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-1859. 
The  Sabbath  school  as  it 

should  be 


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THE 


SABBATH   SCHOOL 


AS  IT  SHOULD  BE. 


/ 

WILLIAM    A.    ALCOTT, 


JONATHAN    LEAVITT, 

14    John    Street. 

BOSTON  :— CROCKER  &  BREWSTER, 

47   W a sh i n g t o n  S t r e e t . 

1841. 


Entered  according  to  an  Act  of  Congi-ess,  in  the  year  1841,  by 

JONATHAN    LEAVITT, 

in  the  Clerk's  OfBce,  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New-York. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS— JOHN  F.  TROW,  PRINTER. 


NOV    9    1835  ■$ 


PREFACE 


The  following  work  originated  in  a  course  of 
lectures  on  Sabbath  schools,  given  in  Dedham,  Mass., 
during  the  last  winter,  after  many  years  of  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  subject.  They  do  not,  in- 
deed, appear  in  the  shape  of  lectures,  having  been 
revised  with  a  view  to  present  them  to  the  public  in 
a  form  more  popular  and  more  acceptable. 

As  there  are  already  before  the  public  several 
books  of  merit  on  Sabbath  schools,  the  question  may 
naturally  arise  in  the  minds  of  many,  why  I  should 
have  thought  it  j^dvisable  to  add  another  to  the  list. 
It  cannot  surely  be  my  expectation,  some  may  say, 
to  excel  those  who  have  gone  before  me  in  this  im- 
portant work. 


4  ,  PREFACE. 

Now  whether  I  have  had  right  or  wrong  feehngs 
in  regard  to  this  matter,  I  am  by  no  means  certain ; 
yet  I  can  truly  say  that  it  has  been  no  part  of  my 
object  to  excel  those  who  have  gone  before  me. 
Some  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Sabbath  schools,  either  as  a  superintendent  or  a 
teacher,  have  forced  upon  me  many  reflections  which 
I  have  been  desirous  of  communicating  to  the  w^orld. 
Whether  there  are  few  or  many  works  of  the  kind 
before  the  public  is,  moreover,  a  question  which,  in 
the  preparation  of  this,  I  have  scarcely  agitated. 

The  best  reply  I  can  give  to  the  inquiries  which 
have  been  alluded  to,  may  be  found  in  the  language 
of  Rev.  Jacob  Abbott,  in  his  preface  to  the 
"Teacher,"  a  work  designed,  it  is  true,  for  the  in- 
structors of  primary  and  common  schools  ;  but  one, 
nevertheless,  to  which  the  same  objections  might 
have  been  made,  which  I  have  supposed  likely  to  be 
made  to  this.  The  paragraph  to  which  I  refer  is 
the  following : 

"From  the  very  nature  of  our  employment,  (as 
teachers,)  and  from  the  circumstances  under  which  the 


PREFACEi  5 

preparation  for  it  must  be  made,  it  is  plain,  that  of 
the  many  thousands  who  are,  in  the  United  States, 
annually  entering  the  work,  a  very  large  majority 
must  depend  for  all  their  knowledge  of  the  art,  ex- 
cept what  they  acquire  from  their  own  observation 
and  experience,  on  what  they  can  obtain  from  books. 
It  is  desirable  that  the  class  of  works  from  which 
such  knowledge  can  be  obtained  should  be  increased. 

"  Some  excellent  and  highly  useful  specimens 
have  already  appeared,  and  very  many  more  would 
be  eagerly  read  by  teachers,  if  properly  prepared. 
It  is  essential,  however,  that  they  should  be  written 
by  experienced  teachers,  who  have  for  some  years 
been  actively  engaged  and  specially  interested  in  the 
work." 

There  are  fewer  books,  as  yet,  to  guide  the  Sab- 
bath school  teacher,  than  there  are  to  guide  the 
teacher  of  the  common  or  district  school.  I  feel  as- 
sured, therefore,  that  if  this  book  should  not  be  well 
received,  it  will  be  owing  to  some  fault  in  itself,  and 
not  to  the  fact  that  books  on  this  subject  are  not 
wanted.     I  believe  that  more  even  are  desirable  j 

1*    ■ 


6  PREFACE. 

and  I  most  earnestly  hope  that  some  half  a  dozen' 
or  a  dozen  of  our  superintendents  or  teachers,  of 
long  experience  and  tried  wisdom,  will  ere  long 
follow  in  the  same  train.  Perhaps  they  may  not 
only  follow,  but  correct  errors  and  supply  the  defects 
of  at  least  some  of  those  who  have  preceded  them. 

Dedham,  May,  1841. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OBJECT  OF  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

§  I.       PRELIMINARY   REMARKS. 

The  "  hearts  of  the  fathers  turned"  to  the  children.  Expla- 
nation. Sabbath  schools.  General  Plan  of  the  following 
work.    Freedom  in  the  expression  of  my  opinions         13 

§  II.       WHAT  SHOULD    NOT    BE    THE    OBJECT   OF    SABBATH 

SCHOOLS. 

Not  solely  to  keep  children  out  of  mischief.  Not  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  family  instruction.  Not  merely  to  train  the  in- 
tellect. Not  to  be  in  fashion.  Not  to  make  proselytes. 
Not  to  make  bigots.    Not  to  promote  skepticism  16 

§  HI.  WHAT  THE  OBJECT  OF  THE  SABBATH   SCHOOL 

SHOULD    BE.  • 

The  Sabbath  school  should  be  an  aid  to  parents.  It  is  a  great 
assistant  to  ministers.  Is,  especially,  an  aid  to  the  con- 
version and  sanclification  of  the  child.  May  prepare  the 
way  for  extraordinary  progress  in  the  divine  life.  Tends 
to  elicit  thought  and  inquiry.  May  be  made  a  means  of 
teaching  the  laws  of  God,  in  the  human  frame.  It  is  a 
blessing,  also,  to  teachers  themselves  .        .        .28 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  II. 

DUTIES  OF   CHURCH  MEMBERS,  IN  RELATION  TO 
SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

§  I.    THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  A  PART  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Views  of  Mr.  Todd.  Testimony  of  the  writer.  Anecdote. 
The  badly  selected  library.  A  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing:. 
General  Remarks 59 

§  II.     PARTICULAR     DUTY   OF    PARENTS    IN    RELATION    TO 

SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

Seasonable  attendance  of  children.  Studying  the  lessons  with 
their  children.  Frequent  parental  neglect.  Example  of 
faithful  parental  duty.  Reflections.  Whole  churches 
are  sometimes  resolved  into  Sabbath  schools      .        .    65 

§  III,    FAMILY  CONVERSATION. 

General  rule  on  this  subject.  Things  as  they  are  among  us. 
Conversation  at  the  breakfast  table.  "At  dinner  and 
elsewhere.    Anecdote  of  the  Icelanders     .        .        .73 

§  IV.    PRAYER    FOR   SABBATH   SCHOOLS. 

Neglect  of  prayer  for  Sabbath  schools.  A  contradiction 
among  Christians 77 

§  V.    FAMILIAR  INTERCOURSE  "WITH  TEACHERS. 

Giving  them  a  hearty  welcome.  Receivingtheir  visits.  Duty 
of  parents  to  become  teachers.  Particular  duty  of  those 
who  have  once  been  teachers  of  week-day  schools         79 

CHAPTER  m. 


ORGANIZA'];fON  AND  CONDUCT  OF  SABBATH 
SCHOOLS. 

§    I.   PRELIMINARY  REMARKS        .  .  *  .81 

§  II.   OPENING  THE  SCHOOL  .  ,  .  .82 

§  III.   LENGTH  OF  THE  EXERCISES  .  .  .83 


CONTENTS. 


§  IV.    VARIETY  OF  THE  EXERCISES  .  .  .84 

§  V.    THE  LESSONS  SHOULD  BE  INTELLIGIBLE  .       86 

§  VI.    SOLEMN,  YET  CHEERFUL  .  .  .88 


§• 


VIL    NEATNESS  OF  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  ROOM. 


Two  reasons  why  neatness  in  the  Sabbath  school  room  is  in- 
dispensable. The  Sabbath  school  room  itself.  Neatness 
of  person,  clothes  and  books.  Tobacco  in  the  school 
room.    Eatables.     Importance  of  having  a  plan  89 

§  VIII.    THE    EXERCISES    SHOULD    BE    MADE    INTERESTING. 

Three  rules  for  rendering  the  exercises  interesting.  Story 
telling.  Bell  ringing.  Contribution  boxes,  and  other  in- 
terruptions. Necessity  of  regulating  time  and  tempera- 
ture.    Power  of  sympathy 92 


§ 


IX.    CLASSIFICATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 


Number  of  classes.  Importance  of  good  teachers.  Classi- 
fying according  to  life  or  capacity.  According  to  beha- 
vior. A  common  error.  Anecdote  of  Plato.  Power 
of  example  as  a  means  of  reformation.  One  source  of 
injury  to  Sabbath  schools 95 

§  X.    TIME  OF  HOLDING  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL. 

The  morning  the  best  time.  Four  reasons  why.  Change 
needed  in  the  public  habits.  Only  one  SabJaath  school 
session  in  a  day.  Objections  to  this.  These  objections 
met.  Voice  of  experience.  Picture  of  a  modern  New 
England  Sabbath  day.  Morning.  Sabbath  schools  condu- 
cive to  the  health  of  the  body,  the  health  of  the  mind,  and 
the  health  of  the  moral  powers  ....  100 


CHAPTER  IV. 

METHOD   OF  SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHING. 


§  I.    ERRORS  OF  PRESENT  METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

An  exavBple  of  erroneous  teaching.  Endeavor  to  show  that 
such  instruction  is  not  religious  instruction.  May  lead  to 
religiors  instruction.  Other  methods  which  are  prefera- 
able 130 


10  CONTENTS. 

§  II.    TEACHING  BIBLE  GEOGRAPHY. 

Value  of  this  sort  of  knowledge.  Illustrated  by  a  lesson  from 
Matt.  ii.  1,  2.  Objections  to  this  method  considered.  Re- 
marks and  reflections.    A  second  lesson  of  geography     126 

§  III.    STUDY  OF  BIOGRAPHY. 

Lesson  on  the  transfiguration  of  Christ.  Biography  of 
Moses.     That  of  Elias  or  Elijah.    That  of  Elisha       140 

§  IV.    BIOGRAPHY  IN  OLDER  CLASSES. 

Account  of  Philip  the  Evangelist.  Conversation  respecting 
him  .         .        .      \ 143 

§  V.    MORAL   INSTRUCTION. 

Parable  of  the  prodigal  son.  How  to  draw  moral  reflections. 
Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  printed  question  books. 
Use  of  dictionaries,  commentaries  and  other  helps       147 


CHAPTER   V. 

OTHER  METHODS  OF  BIBLE  STUDT. 

§  I.    BIOGRAPHY    OF    THE    BIBLE. 

General  structure  and  character  of  the  Bible.  Advantages 
of  studying  divine  truth  in  this  form.  1.  Negative  ad- 
vantages. 2.  Positive  advantages.  3.  Elevates  and  im- 
proves the  conscience.     4.  Assists  us  by  the  example    170 


§ 


II.  TRAVELS  AND  CHARACTER  OF  OUR  SAVIOR. 


Reasons  why  the  Savior  should  have  a  prominent  place  in  all 
our  Sabbath  school  instructions.  Story  telling,  as  a 
means  of  religious  teaching.  Special  lessons  on  the  Sa- 
vior. Examples — practical  ones — of  this  kind  of  leach- 
ing                 ....  178 

§  HI.    RESULTS   OF    THIS   INSTRUCTION. 

Not  always  immediate.  To  knoio  is  not  to  do.  Tendency 
to  promote  conscientiousness.  Examples.  Nothing  of 
this  kind  wholly  lost  186 

§  IV.    TEACHING  THE  NATURAL  LAWS  OF  GOD. 

Objections  to  these,  as  being  secular.  The  objections  an- 
swered.   Examples  of  this  kind  of  instruction.     The  laws 


CONTENTS.  11 

of  germination  and  growth.  Decay  and  putrefaction. 
Perspiration.  Physiology  of  crucifixion.  The  renewal 
or  renovation  of  the  human  body.  Practical  moral  in- 
ferences. The  law  of  fermentation.  Objections  con- 
sidered   189 

§  V.    TEACHING   DOCTRINES    IN    THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL. 

This  entirely  unnecessary.  Experiment  of  a  teacher.  Au- 
thor's experience.  His  method  with  Bible  classes. 
Greatness  of  the  work         ......  201 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DUTIES  OF   SUPERINTENDENTS    AND    TEACHERS. 

§  I.    COMMON  DUTIES  OF  RELIGIOUS  TEACHERS. 

Religious  teachers — whether  of  the  Sabbath  school  or  else- 
where— should  have  high  aims.  Motives  to  exertion  sug- 
gested by  Mr.  Todd.  Study  of  the  Bible.  Study  of  com- 
mentaries and  other  books.  Particular  necessity  of  an  ac- 
quaintance with  sacred  geography.  Weekly  meetings 
for  studying  the  lessons  in  concert.  Prayer.  Meetings 
for  prayer.  Punctuality.  Teaching  by  example.  The 
influence  of  piety.  Aptness  to  teach.  Reviewing  the 
lessons 211 

§  n.  PARTICULAR  DUTIES  OF  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Habits  of  order  must  be  secured.  Mt.  Vernon  School,  in 
Boston.  Moral  suasion.  Example  of  inflicting  punish- 
ment. Anecdote  of  Mr.  Taylor.  "  Soul"  of  the  system. 
Keeping  a  record.     Making  reports  .        .        .  23G 

CHAPTER  VIL 

DUTIES  OF  MINISTERS  IN  RELATION  TO  SABBATH 
SCHOOLS. 

§  I.    WHAT  MINISTERS    CANNOT   DO. 

Ministers  who  do  not  believe  in  the  utility  of  Sabbath  schools. 
Other  ministers.  Ministers  cannot  do  every  thing.  Our 
unreastnable  demands  upon  ihem        ....  247 


12  CONTENTS. 


§  11.    WHAT  MINISTERS  CAN  DO  FOR  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

Preaching  on  Sabbath  schools.  Occasional  lectures.  Ex- 
plaining the  lessons  publicly.  Example  of  the  method 
of  doing  this.  Difficulties  on  account  of  stupid  hearers. 
Attending  the  weekly  meetings  of  the  teachers.  Views 
of  Mr.  Todd.  Remarks.    Visiting  the  Sabbath  school  257 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SABBATH  SCHOOL  LIBRARIES. 

§  I.    UTILITY  OF  SABBATH    SCHOOL   LIBRARIES. 

Rewards  in  Sabbath  schools  objected  to.  Books  in  a  library 
not  to  be  used  as  a  reward.  Sabbath  school  libraries 
defended — as  on  the  whole  desirable  .        .        .  269 

§  II.    LIBRARIES  FOR    TEACHERS. 

Necessity  of  such  libraries.  What  they  should  include; 
Church  libraries.  Who  should  select  the  books  for 
a  teachers'  library 271 

§  III.    LIBRARIES  FOR  THE    PUPILS   OF    SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

A  selection  for  them  is  already  made.  This,  however,  is  to 
be  selected  from.  On  what  principles.  Not  on  the  ground 
of  cheapness,  solely.  Great  influence  of  Sabbath  school 
books.  Biographies.  Memoirs.  Happy  living  rather 
than  happy  dying.  Modes  of  distributing  books.  Why 
parents  are  the  best  persons  to  draw  books  for  children. 
Parents  and  children  should  read  the  books  together. 
Too  much  reading 274 


THE 


SABBATH  SCHOOL  AS  IT  SHOULD  BE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OBJECT    OF    SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

§  1.     PRELIMINARY   REMARKS. 

The  "  hearts  of  the  fathers  turned  to  the  children." — Expla- 
nation.—Sabbath  schools. — General  plan  of  the  following 
work. — Freedom  in  the  expression  of  opinions. 

During  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  years  it  has  pleased 
God  in  a  remarkable  manner  "  to  turn  the  hearts  of 
the  fathers  to  the  children."  Hence  our  infant  schools, 
and  infant  school  books ;  our  Sabbath  schools,  and 
Sabbath  school  books  ;  and  a  multitude  of  devices 
to  gain  the  attention  and  the  hearts  of  the  rising 
generation.  Hence,  in  fact,  the  efforts  which  have 
been  made,  so  extensively,  to  improve  and  elevate 
the  common  school,  and  extend  its  blessings. 

By  these  remarks,  however,  it  is  not  my  design 
to  affirm  that  every  individual  concerned  in  these 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  young,  has  been  moved  by 
divine  love,  or  a  divine  impulse.     In  all  things,  even 

2 


14  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

the  best  men  are  very  probably  governed  by  a 
mixture  of  motives — some  good,  some  bad ;  some 
selfish,  others  benevolent.  What  I  mean  to  say  is, 
that  God  has  been  pleased  so  to  control  and  order 
men's  minds,  that  the  result  has  been  a  degree  of 
attention  to  the  rising  generation,  for  good  or  for 
evil  in  its  results,  which  the  world  had  never  before 
witnessed,  at  least  on  any  considerable  scale.  "  Just 
as  the  twig  _is  bent  the  tree's  inclined,"  seems  now 
to  be  generally  understood  and  admitted,  and  to 
have  its  influence,  to  some  extent,  on  nearly  all. 

Especially  has  it  had  its  influence  on  churches 
of  professing  Christians.  There  are  few  of  these, 
at  the  present  time,  who  have  not,  in  one  form  or 
another,  a  Sabbath  school ;  and  most  of  them  a  Sab- 
bath school  library.  Connected  with  each  school  is 
from  one  to  three  superintendents,  and  a  number, 
greater  or  smaller,  of  teachers — making  in  all  quite 
a  considerable  army.  And  what  strikes  us  or  might 
strike  us  with  surprise,  we  find  this  host  of  teachers 
laboring,  as  no  other  body  of  men  in  such  large 
numbers  have  ever  before  labored — so  far  as  I  know, 
gratuitously — by  Sabbath  and  by  week-day,  for  the 
children  assigned  them.  The  number  of  teachers 
and  pupils  in  organized  Sabbath  schools,  in  the 
United  States  alone,  to  say  nothing  of  other  coun- 
tries, is  immense,  and  is  rapidly  increasing  every 
year. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  15 

My  purpose  in  this  work  will  be  to  point  out 
in  the  first  place,  what  is  the  legitimate  object  and 
end  of  Sabbath  schools ;  in  other  words,  what  they 
are  good  for;  secondly,  on  whom  their  organiza- 
tion and  responsibility  should  devolve,  in  order  that 
their  true  object  may  be  best  accomplished,  viz. 
on  the  members  of  our  churches  ;  and  thirdly,  the 
manner  of  organizing  and  conducting  them.  I  shall 
then  p]  oceed  to  speak  of  methods  and  principles  of 
instruction.  Having  d:ne  this,  I  shall  speak  of  the 
particular  duties  of  superintendents,  teachers,  and 
ministers  in  relation  to  Sabbath  schools  ;  and  lastly 
shall  say  something  of  Sabbath  school  books,  and  of 
the  most  useful  ways  of  managing  libraries. 

In  all  my  remarks,  whatever  may  be  the  topic, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  be  free  and  unshackled.  What 
I  say  will  be  my  own  ;  and  for  it,  I  am  alone  re- 
sponsible. If  I  should,  in  any  instance,  say  that 
which  to  some  minds  may  seem  unsupported  by  fact 
and  experiment,  let  it  not  be  charged  on  any  parti- 
cular denomination  of  Christians  in  the  community 
to  which  we  belong,  and  above  all,  on  the  whole 
Christian  world.  It  cannot  I  am  sure  be  forgotten 
by  any,  that  I  am  but  one  individual ;  and  though 
a  humble  inquirer  after  truth  no  less  than  anxious 
to  lead  others  into  the  same  path  of  inquiry,  that  I 
am  by  no  means  infallible.  "  To  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony." 


16  THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL 

§  n.  WHAT  SHOULD  NOT  BE  THE  OBJECT  OF  SABBATH 
SCHOOLS. 

Not  solely  to  keep  children  out  of  mischief — Not  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  family  instruction. — Not  merely  to  train  the 
intellect. — Not  to  be  in  fashion. — Not  to  make  proselytes. 
Not  to  make  bigots. — Not  to  promote  skepticism. 

It  may  be  well  to  treat  of  this  subject,  in  the  first 
place  negatively  ;  that  is,  by  considering  what  is  not, 
or  at  least  should  not  be  the  end  and  object  of  Sab- 
bath schools,  among  Protestant  Christians. 

1.  Their  sole  object  is  not — should  not  be — to 
keep  their  children  out  of  mischief.  That  this  is,  to 
some  extent,  their  object,  and  properly  so,  I  will  not 
deny.  It  is  no  light  thing,  either  in  regard  to  the  ef- 
fort which  it  requires,  or  the  results  which  follow,  to 
keep  some  of  our  race  from  doing  harm.  He  who 
induces  a  boy  to  come  into  the  Sabbath  school  and 
spend  an  hour  there,  in  quiet,  even  though  not  a 
word  should  be  said  to  him,  when  otherwise  he 
would  be  in  the  society  of  the  indolent,  the  profane, 
the  obscene  or  the  fraudulent,  has  probably  done 
good  in  two  ways.*  First,  he  has  prevented  evil  ; 
and  secondly,  he  has  prevented  the  confirmation  of 
those  habits  which  repetition  always  strengthens. 

When  Sabbath  schools  were  first  instituted,  both 
in  this  country  and  the  Eastern  world,  it  is  well 
known  that  they  were  designed,  chiefly,  for  the 
children  of  the  poor  or  the  vicious.     The  children 

*  A  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  will  be  noticed  in  another 
place. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


17 


of  the  wealthy  and  the  virtuous,  it  was  thought, 
were  already  well  provided  for.  But  the  Sabbath 
school  was  soon  found  to  be  happily  designed  for 
the  children  of  the  rich,  as  well  as  for  those  of  the 
poor  ;  and  for  those  of  the  virtuous  as  well  as  of  the 
dissolute.  And  though  they  are  indispensable  to  the 
latter,  they  are  much  prized  by  many  of  the  former. 
I  have  admitted  that  though  Sabbath  schools  are 
not  designed  to  keep  children  out  of  mischief,  they 
do  some  good  even  in  that  way.  How  much  good 
is  it  possible  they  may  have  done  already,  even  in  a 
single  township  in  New  England  ?  How  much 
more  good,  in  this  way,  might  they  be  made  to  do? 
There  are  hundreds  of  children  among  us  who  would 
be  far  better  off  were  they  brought  under  the  influence 
of  good  Sabbath  schools  than  they  now  are.  Bless- 
ed is  he — blessed  I  mean,  would  he  be — who  having 
heart  and  hands  for  this  work  should  go  forth  into 
our  streets  and  lanes  and  gather  into  the  Sabbath 
school  some  scores — I  was  going  to  say  hundreds — 
of  the  young  of  various  ages,  and  keep  them  out  of 
mischief  but  for  a  single  hour.  And  not  the  hun- 
dreds of  the  young  alone,  is  it,  who  need  this  sort  of 
interposition — the  e  errands  of  mercy — there  are 
not  a  few  adults  among  us  who  set  the  young  a 
most  unhappy  example  on  the  Sabbath.  How  much 
do  we  need  men  or  angels  among  us  to  go  about, 
as  did  the  Savior,  and  lay  hold  of  the  hands  and 
2* 


IS 


THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 


hearts  of  the  vicious  and  the  miserable,  and  by  any- 
thing short  of  mere  brute  force,  bring  them  within 
the  sound  of  the  voice  of  instruction  ! 

Nor  are  men  or  women  or  children  always  so  in- 
accessible, on  this  subject,  as  many  suppose.  They 
who  have,  in  large  measure,  the  spirit  of  doing  good — 
the  spirit  of  our  Savior — find  very  little  difficulty  in 
gaining  access  to  the  most  careless  parents ;  and  if 
they  cannot  persuade  them  to  enter  the  Sabbath 
school,  they  find  far  less  diflSculty  in  persuading 
them  to  send  their  children.  Many  a  parent  who 
is  vicious  himself,  will  be  willing  his  children  should 
be  made  virtuous,  especially  when  it  is  done  gratu- 
itously, and  his  own  good  example  is  not  required. 
And  though  little  can  be  done  in  one  hour  of  the 
week — that  is,  comparatively — for  such  children, 
yet,  as  I  have  already  insisted,  something  is  done 
when  they  are  kept  out  of  mischief  but  for  one  hour. 

2.  Sabbath  school  instruction  is  not  to  be  a  sub- 
stitute for  family  instruction.  The  family,  like  the 
church,  is  God's  own  institution ;  nor  besides  these 
two  does  he  appear  to  have  established  any  other.* 
Whatever,  therefore,  tends  to  weaken  the  power  or 
lessen  the  influence  of  the  family  and.  the  church,  or 
of  either  of  them,  must  needs  be  of  evil  tendency. 

+  The  terms  family  and  church  are  however  used,  here, 
in  their  larger  sense;  the  Sabbath  beina:  regarded  as  an  in- 
siitiition — not  a  school — closely  connected  with  ijie  church; 
and  the  district  or  common  school  as  a  part  of  the  family. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  19 

Let  me  not  be  understood,  however,  es  derogating 
from  the  excellency  of  an  institution  merely  because 
it  is  human.  I  care  not  that  an  institution  is  human, 
if  it  is  a  good  one.  In  fact  there  are  many  human 
institutions  upon  which  God  has  condescended,  in  a 
most  signal  manner,  to  shed  down  his  blessing. 
Such  most  undoubtedly,  among  others,  is  the  Sab- 
bath school.  What  I  mean  to  say  is,  that  to  an- 
swer a  valuable  purpose  it  must  be  made  to  co-ope- 
rate with  the  family  and  the  church  ;  or  at  least  never 
to  interfere  with  them,  or  retard  their  operation. 

So  far  as  the  pupils  of  our  Sabbath  schools  consist 
of  the  children  of  the  vicious  and  the  miserable,  no 
o  le  will  contend  that  their  instruction  in  the  Sabbath 
school  interferes  with  the  family  or  the  church  ;  for 
neither  of  these  has  much  influence  over  such  chil- 
dren. But  there  are  those  who  send  their  children  to 
these  schools,  who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  giving 
them  rphgious  instruction  in  the  family.  Such  parents 
should  be  exceedingly  cautious,  lest  while  they  avail 
themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the  Sabbath  school 
they  remit  their  diligence  at  home,  especially  as  the 
hours  of  home  instruction  will  be  somewhat  nar- 
rowed by  the  hour  spent  in  the  Sabbath  school. 
On  all  these  points,  however, — those  points  I  mean 
where  the  family,  the  church  and  the  Sabbath 
school  seem  to  be  in  danger  of  trenching  upon  each 
other, — I  may  have  occasion  to  speak  hereafter. 


20  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

3.  It  should  by  no  means  be  the  object  of  the 
Sabbath  school  to  train  the  intellect  merely,  to 
the  neglect  of  the  feelings  and  affections.  It  is 
quite  enough  that  the  instruction  of  six  days  in  the 
week,  as  we  too  often  find  it  in  our  schools, 

"  Plays  round  the  head,  but  comes  not  to  the  heart." 
Here,  let  the  heart  be  reached  ;  and,  if  possible,  af- 
fected. And  yet,  if  I  do  not  much  mistake,  I  shall 
be  able  to  show,  in  another  place,  that  little  is  done 
with  any  thing  but  the  mere  intellect  of  the  pupil,  in 
the  best  of  our  Sabbath  schools.  To  love  one 
anotli*er,  to  love  our  parents  and  friends,  and  to  love 
God,  or  to  ehcit  the  practical  evidences  of  such  love, 
is  almost  utterly  unknown  in  our  modern  education  ; 
and  thus  far,  for  the  most  part,  in  our  Sabbath 
schools.  This  is  a  painful  concession  ;  but  is  it  not 
a  just  and  proper  one  ?  All  our  education,  or  al- 
most all,  is  mere  word  education — the  study  and  re- 
membering and  reciting  of  words.  Grant  that  they 
are,  some  of  them,  sacred  words,  they  are  still  words. 
They  do  little  to  form  character.  They  do  more  to 
cultivate  the  memory,  or  perhaps  in  the  end  to  de- 
stroy both  the  memory  and  the  rest  of  the  faculties, 
than  to  make  us  better — the  great  end  and  object  of 
our  existence. 

4.  Nor  is  it  the  legitimate  object  of  the  friends 
of  the  Sabbath  school  to  be  in  fashion.  Many 
individuals  are  sustained  in  this  apparently  benev- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  21 

olent  work  by  a  sort  of  indefinite  idea  that  they 
must  do  it,  in  order  to  be  on  a  par  with  their  breth- 
ren, or  their  sister  churches.  Baptists  have  Sab- 
bath schools,  and  therefore  the  Methodists  must 
have;  the  Congregationalists,  and  therefore  the 
Universahsts ;  the  churches  in  the  neighboring 
towns,  and  therefore  the  churches  in  our  own  town. 

Few  individuals  or  churches  are  probably  con- 
scious of  being  influenced  in  any  considerable  degree 
by  such  unworthy  motives.  They  have  very  little 
thought  that  while  they  fancy  themselves  the  servants 
of  Christ,  they  are  the  slaves  of  fashion ;  I  mean  of 
fashionable  opinion.  But  painful  as  must  be  the  con-, 
cession,  fashion  very  often  sways  her  sceptre  where 
her  power  should  least  of  all  be  acknowledged. 

Some  may  startle  at  these  assertions,  as  not  a 
little  slanderous.  1  do  not  think  they  are  so. 
I  am  certainly  willing  to  give  credit  to  w^hora 
credit  is  due ;  and  am  well  aware  that  much 
credit  is  due,  as  a  general  fact,  to  our  Sabbath 
school  teachers.  We  have  as  good  evidence  that 
their  labors  are  disinterested,  as  we  have  that  the 
labors  of  any  class  of  our  citizens,  taken  as  a  whole, 
are  so.  And  yet,  after  all,  take  away  the  unworthy 
motive  to  which  I  have  alluded — I  mean  a  regard 
to  the  good  opinion  of  fellow  Christians  and  sister 
churches  around— and  we  should  soon  find  that  a 
large  proportion  of  those  who  now  call  themselves 


22  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

the  friends  of  Sabbath  schools  would  disappear ; 
and  not  a  few  of  the  seats  of  our  teachers  themselves 
would  be  vacant ! 

Some,  says  Paul,  "preach  Christ  of  contention," 
as  others  do  in  love ;  and  this  is  very  nearly  the 
case  with  some  of  the  friends  of  Sabbath  schools. 
They  do  what  they  do  in  mere  competition,  or  as 
Paul  would  say,  contention.  But  what  then  ? 
Though  this  is  wrong,  in  itself  considered,  yet  let  us 
rejoice  as  Paul  did,  that  the  truth  is  in  any  way  pro- 
moted. The  Deity  is  said  to  cause  even  the  wrath 
of  man  to  redound  to  his  own  praise.  Can  we  not 
so  far  imitate  him,  as  to  be  willing  the  cause  of 
Christ  should  be  promoted,  even  though  it  were 
done  with  some  regard  to  fashionable  opinion  ;  es- 
pecially as  we  cannot  help  it  ? 

5.  Nor  is  it  the  proper  object  of  Sabbath  school 
instruction  to  make  proselytes  to  a  particular  sect. 
How  exceedingly  little,  in  the  eye  of  the  Deity, 
must  be  our  sectarian  feelings  and  controversies ! 
"  Is  Christ  divided  ?"  Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews 
alone  ?  Is  he  not  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  Is  he  the 
God  of  the  Presbyterian,  and  not  of  the  Quaker  ? 

But  if  the  spirit  of  sect  seems  narrow  and  wholly 
unworthy  of  the  rational  mind,  in  its  ordinary  mani- 
festations in  the  great  world,  how  much  more  so 
is  it,  when  manifested  in  the  Sabbath  school  ? 

I  am  ashamed  of  those  individuals — for  a  few 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  23 

such  tliere  certainly  are — who  can  demean  them- 
selves in  this  way.  I  would  say  to  them  :  "  Now, 
brethren  and  friends,  whenever  you  find  yourselves 
inclined  to  indulge  the  spirit  of  sect — the  disposition 
of  the  Pharisees  to  comjoass  sea  and  land  to  make  a 
single  proselyte — be  prevailed  on  to  suppress  it. 
Above  all,  put  it  off  when  you  enter  the  Sabbath 
school.  Remember  that  the  moment  you  have 
passed  the  threshold  of  the  Sabbath  school  room, 
you  are  on  holy  ground ;  and  let  nothing  enter 
therein  that  maketh  unworthy  or  unholy ;  or  as  the 
Scriptures  say,  that  "  defileth." 

I  would  not,  of  course,  that  an  individual  should 
have  no  preferences,  in  this  matter.  This  were,  in 
all  probability,  impossible.  How  could  a  person 
thus  divest  himself?  What  I  mean  to  say  is,  that 
his  preferences  should  not  appear,  without  necessity, 
in  the  Sabbath  school  room.  If,  in  the  usual  course 
of  explaining  a  passage  or  chapter  in  the  Bible,  it 
becomes  necessary  to  speak  to  children  of  the  pecu- 
liar opinion  of  different  sects  as  a  mere  matter  of 
information,  let  it  be  done  ;  it  certainly  ought  to  be 
done.  But  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  forcing 
these  matters  forward,  and  merely  disposing  of  them 
properly  when  they  come  forward  in  a  natural  w^ay. 

6.  Nor  is  it  the  legitimate  purpose  of  the  Sab- 
bath school  to  make  bigots  of  the  pupils.  A  bigot 
is  one   w^ho  is  obstinately  attached  to  a  particular 


24  THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 

mode  of  belief ; — who  believes  &ecaw^e  he  believes, 
he  hardly  knows  or  cares  why.  Indeed  the  more 
bigoted  a  person  is,  the  more  unwilling,  as  a  gen- 
eral fact,  is  he  to  have  the  grounds  of  his  belief 
questioned. 

It  is  as  unworthy  a  business  to  make  bigots  as 
proselytes.  Our  great  purpose  should  be  to  make 
Christians,  rather  than  either.  Above  all  is  it  both 
unwise  and  wicked  to  make  bigots  of  children  and 
youth.  Yet  some  there  are  w-hose  instruction  in 
the  Sabbath  school,  whatever  may  be  their  intention, 
has  this  tendency. 

I  have  already  intimated  that  nearly  all  our 
Christian  sects  are  availing  themselves  of  the  bene- 
fits of  Sabbath  schools.  They  have  all  learned  that 
"just  as  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree's  inclined,"  and 
are  making  untiring  efforts  to  bend  the  "  twig  "  to 
suit  their  various  purposes.  I  am  quite  confident 
that  a  little  of  the  bustle  w^iich  we  witness  in  re- 
gard to  early  religious  instruction,  is  excited  by  a 
desire  to  forestall  the  youthful  opinion,  and  bend 
it  into  the  desired  channel — to  seize  on  the  minds 
of  the  young  and  make  proselytes — not  to  say  dupes 
of  them. 

7.  Lastly,  however.  Sabbath  schools  are  mis- 
directed, or  at  least  fall  short  of  their  best  effects, 
when  they  are  made  the  instruments,  willing  or 
unwilling,  of  promoting  skepticism. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  25 

I  say  willing  or  unwUling  ;  but  I  do  not  believe 
one  teacher  in  a  thousand  would  willingly  suffer 
his  labors  to  become  auxiliary  to  the  cause  of  skep- 
ticism. Yet  I  greatly  mistake  human  nature  if  such 
is  not  sometimes  the  result  of  our  labors  ;  and  that 
too,  in  a  far  greater  proportion  than  that  of  one  in 
a  thousand.  When  I  say  this,  however,  I  refer  to 
our  labors  as  they  have  been  hitherto  applied.  The 
Scriptures  are  a  savor  of  death  unto  death  when  they 
are  misapplied,  as  surely  as  of  life  unto  life,  when 
a  proper  use  is  made  of  them.  And  a  savor  of 
life  unto  life  or  of  death  unto  death  they  always 
are,  w^henever  they  are  read,  heard,  recited  or  med- 
itated upon.     There  is  here  no  neutrality. 

Let  him  who  doubts  whether  the  Sabbath  school 
ever  tends  to  make  the  pupils  skeptical  remember 
that  when  the  Scriptures  are  studied  over  chapter 
after  chapter,  with  little  attention  to  their  sense — 
the  only  object  being  to  recite  them  verbatim,  or  at 
best  to  answer  a  few  questions  in  the  most  mechan- 
ical manner  conceivable — and  the  heart  remains  un- 
touched, there  is  very  great  danger  of  becoming 
unsusceptible  or  callous  to  their  influence.  So  un- 
happy have  been  many  of  our  efforts  in  behalf  of 
the  young  in  the  Sabbath  school,  thus  far,  that  not 
a  few  of  the  present  generation,  as  I  greatly  fear, 
will  grow  up  to  manhood  not  oi  ly  ut  aff^'cted  and 
likely  to  remain  unaffected  by  religious  truth,  but 

3 


26  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

alDSolutely  disgusted  with  and  even  hostile  to  it. 
Nor  am  I  alone  in  this  fear.  Many  good  men — ■ 
some  even  whose  labors  and  whose  praise,  in  behalf 
of  Sabbath  schools,  are  in  all  the  churches — have 
publicly  declared  their  fears  in  this  respect,  many 
years  since. 

For  remember,  the  Sabbath  school  is  not  strictly 
speaking  one  of  the  Creator's  own  institutions,  as 
are  the  family  and  the  church  ;  and  what  God 
has  not  established  He  has  not  bound  himself,  amid 
all  the  errors  and  corruptions  of  humanity,  to  pre* 
serve  and  to  make  an  instrument  for  good.  The 
family  state,  under  the  worst  circumstances,  is  better 
than  celibacy ;  and  what  is  true  of  the  family  in 
this  respect  is  still  more  true  of  the  church  and  its 
primary  institutions.  Let  Christians  but  assemble 
together  as  the  manner  of  some  is,  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  let  them  come  together  often  at  the  table  of 
their  Lord,  and  if  they  have  but  a  barn  to  meet  in, 
and  a  very  indifferent  minister  for  their  leader,  the 
result  is  great,  unmeasurable,  incalculable  good  : 
so  God  has  ordered  it.  I  do  not  say  that  it  is  not 
better,  far  better,  that  the  minister  should  be  of 
better  character — and  the  better  the  character  the 
better  the  tendency — -doubtless  it  is  so.  What  I 
mean  to  affirm  is,  that  since  God  has  ordained  the 
Christian  church,  and  put  the  treasure  in  earthen 
vessels,  he  has  so  ordered  things  that  it  shall  not  be 


AS    IT  SHOULD    BE.  27 

wholly  spoiled  thereby  ;  while  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Sabbath  school,  he  has  given,  in  his  arrange- 
ments, no  such  pledge. 

And  when  T  see  what  sad  work  is  made  by  many 
Sabbath  school  teachers,  for  want  of  that  wisdom, 
both  human  and  divine,  without  which  the  most 
benevolent  and  pious  persons  are  often  found  totally 
unfit  to  be  the  instructors  or  directors  of  the  infant 
and  juvenile  mind,  I  am  sometimes  constrained  to 
feel  if  not  to  say,  that  if  what  has  been  already  done 
in  the  way  of  Sabbath  schools  were  to  be  the  sum 
total  and  end  of  the  matter,  it  would  favor  the  cause 
of  infidelity,  almost  as  much  as  that  of  true  religion. 
It  is  impossible  for  children  long  to  reverence  mere 
machinery ;  and  in  losing  their  reverence  for  that 
which  they  have  hitherto  regarded  as  sacred,  it  is 
next  to  impossible — ^such  is  human  nature — to  avoid 
going  to  the  other  extreme,  that  of  disregarding  and 
perhaps  despising  it. 

And  yet  I  would  not  that  the  Sabbath  school 
system  were  banished  from  among  us.  Every  thing 
must  have  its  infancy.  Man  must  creep  and  totter, 
before  he  can  walk.  Suppose  it  were  susceptible 
of  proof  that  human  existence,  up  to  the  time  when 
the  individual  can  walk,  were  so  beset  with  dangers 
of  various  sorts,  that  infantile  life  at  this  period 
were  absolutely  nothing  worth  ;  would  it  therefore 
follow  that  it  were  better  to  abohsh  infancy  en- 


28  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

tirely  1     Pray  what  would  become  of  manhood  if 
there  were  no  infancy  or  childhood  ? 

Children,  both  in  infancy  and  childhood,  learn 
much  by  their  mistakes  and  failures  ;  and  so  do  not 
a  few  adults.  It  was  Fellenberg,  I  believe,  the 
Swiss  educator,  who  said,  that,  as  an  educator,  he 
usually  learned  most  by  a  succession  of  failures. 
Teachers  and  superintendents  are  beginning  to  find 
out  their  past  errors,  and  to  correct  them.  And 
when  the  reign  of  error  shall  be  over,  and  that  of 
truth  begin,  and  when  we  come  to  maturity  in  our 
moral  stature,  I  cannot  help  believing  that  the  Sab- 
bath school  will  be  found  to  be  a  highly  valuable 
aid,  in  the  promotion  of  virtue  and  happiness.  Nor 
can  I  forbear  the  expectation  that  we  shall  see  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God  illustrated  by  the  in- 
fancy of  the  Sabbath  school  system,  no  less  than  by 
that  manhood  by  which  it  is  to  be  followed. 


§    ni.      WHAT    THE    OBJECT    OF     THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 
SHOULD    BE. 

The  Sabbath  school  should  be  nn  aid  to  parents. — It  is  a 
great  assistance  lo  minisiers. — Is,  especially,  an  aid  to  the 
conversion  and  sanctification  of  the  cliild. — May  prepare 
the  way  for  extraordinary  progress  in  ilie  divine  life. 
Tends  to  elicit  ihonshl  and  inquiry .^-May  be  made  a 
means  of  teaching  the  laws  of  God,  in  the  human  frame. 
—  It  is  a  blessing,  also,  to  teachers  themselves. 

Having  shown,  briefly,  what  is  not  the  legitimate 
object  of  the  Sabbath  school,  let  us  now  consider, 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  29 

affiimatively,  what  may  and  what  indeed  ought  to 
be  expected  from  it. 

1.  The  Sabbath  school  should  be  an  aid  to 
parents.  True  it  is,  that  many  of  the  children  who 
may  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  the  Sabbath 
school,  and  who  perhaps  most  need  it,  have  no  pa- 
rents ;  or  if  they  have  those  who  are  nominally  such, 
they  are  but  little  better  than  none.  Still,  in  our 
own  United  States  country  towns,  as  well  as  in  most 
of  our  villages  and  cities,  it  is  otherwise.  Indeed  it 
is  quite  seldom  that  you  find  members  of  the  Sabbath 
school  who  have  not  parents — real  or  adopted — or 
at  least  masters  or  guardians,  through  whose  influ- 
ence they  are  brought  into  the  school. 

In  short,  as  a  general  fact,  the  residt  seems 
to  be  about  this.  The  Sabbath  school  is  composed, 
with  few  exceptions,  of  the  best  children  of  our  best 
and  most  pious  families — the  very  families  who  feel 
most  desirous  of  instructing  their  children  properly 
both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Now  it  is  to  such  families,  I  say,  that  the  Sab- 
bath school  comes  in— or  might  come  in — as  an 
efficient  aid.  No  such  parents  or  masters  as  I  have 
here  alluded  to,  ever  fear  that  the  religious  educa- 
tion of  their  children  will  be  too  thorough.  If  those 
to  whom  they  intrust  them  for  an  hour  or  so  of  each 
Sabbath,  are  the  men  and  women  they  ought  to  be, 
and  if  they  feel  a  full  and  entire  confidence  in  their 
3* 


30  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

instruction,  they  will  rejoice  in  the  privileges  thus 
afforded  them  ;  and  by  co-operating  with  the  efforts 
of  the  Sabbath  school  to  the  best  of  their  power, 
render  it  a  most  efficient  and  important  aid  in  the 
performance  of  their  own  duty.  Even  the  errors  of 
the  Sabbath  school  will  often  prove  the  occasion 
of  good  to  the  children  by  leading  the  careful,  watch- 
ful parent  to  those  explanations,  illustrations  and 
corrections  which  otherwise  would  not  have  been 
made. 

2.  A  good  Sabbath  school  is  a  great  aid  to  a 
good  minister.  The  labors  which  a  faithful  minister 
of  Christ  might  perform,  in  an  ordinary  country  par- 
ish, had  he  heads  and  hands  enough,  are  exceedingly 
numerous  and  weighty.  Any  thing,  therefore,  which 
as  its  result,  accomplishes  a  part  of  this  labor,  is  an 
aid  to  him. 

How  the  Sabbath  school  most  aids  the  minister 
may  not  be  equally  clear  to  all.  Nor  shall  I  be  pre- 
pared to  make  it  intelligible  to  all,  till  I  come  to 
speak  particularly  of  the  proper  methods  of  conduct- 
ing the  religious  instruction  of  the  young  in  these 
schools. 

For  the  present  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say  that  I 
do  not  entirely  concur  in  the  opinion  of  those  who 
tell  us  that  the  great  business  of  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher  is  to  take  the  truths  which  the  minister  has 
already  uttered  in  the  ears  of  his  more  advanced 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  31 

hearers,  and  bring  them  down  to  the  juvenile  capa- 
city. That  this  is  a  part  of  his  duty,  I  admit ;  but  by 
no  means  a  considerable  part  of  it. 

Nor  do  I  believe  that  the  minister  should  be 
aided  by  having  the  young  taken  entirely  away  from 
the  congregation  to  be  instructed,  while  he  is  in- 
structing adults,  in  another  apartment ;  though  I  am 
fully  aware  that  this  scheme  has  many  advantages, 
ES  the  experiments  that  have  been  made  in  some  of 
our  cities  have  fully  proved.  It  seems  to  me  that 
parents  and  children  should  not  be  separated  for  re- 
ligious instruction,  during  the  regular  church  ser- 
vice. 

Nothing  should  be  done,  as  there  is  good  reason 
for  believing,  which  shall  relieve  the  minister  from 
the  necessity  of  making  himself  intelligible  to  all  his 
hearers,  except  the  merest  infants.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  if  a  minister  were  to  preach  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  render  himself  intelligible  to  children, 
older  people  would  as  a  general  rule  be  disgusted 
with  him.  For  though  there  might  be  a  few  such 
individuals  in  a  congregation  of  some  hundreds,  yet 
I  think  the  number  must  be  very  few  indeed.  Nearly 
all  persons  with  whose  feelings  on  this  subject  I 
have  ever  yet  become  intimately  acquainted,  have 
confessed  themselves  best  pleased  with  that  instruc- 
tion from  the  pulpit  which  is  adapted  to  the  com- 


32  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

prehension  of  children.  And  so  of  books  as  well  as 
sermons.  The  writings  and  sermons  of  such  men 
as  Todd  and  Gallaudet  for  children,  are  nearly  as 
much  relished  by  parents  as  by  the  children  them- 
selves. It  is  not  so  much  the  adaptation  of  style  to 
the  young  at  which  these  and  other  kindred  spirits 
have  aimed — and  so  successfully  too — as  the  adap- 
tation of  their  ideas  to  the  juvenile  capacity.  And 
while  every  child  or  almost  every  child  can  under- 
stand every  thing  or  nearly  every  thing  for  which 
his  mind  is  prepared,  provided  it  is  in  plain  English 
— without  any  descent  to  childishness  in  the  style — 
so,  on  the  other  hand,  few  parents  can  be  found  who 
would  feel  that  an  arrangement  of  ideas  which  was 
adapted  to  their  children  was  too  simple  for  them- 
selves. It  appears  to  me  that  a  great  many  minis- 
ters have  yet  to  learn  from  the  life  and  character 
and  discourses  of  our  Savior,  from  the  practice  of 
successful  Sabbath  school  teachers,  and  from  the 
study  of  the  human  heart,  what  that  true  gospel  sim- 
plicity of  style  is  which  is  at  once  dignified  and 
manly,  and  yet  plain  and  simple.  Our  Savior  has 
said,  Except  ye  be  converted  and  become  as  little 
children,  ye  shall  in  nowise  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven;  and  I  have  often  and  again  thought  that 
no  men  among  us  more  need,  for  the  sake  of  their 
hearers,  to  become  as  little  children  than  ministers. 


AS   IT    SHOULD   BE.  33 

I  think  it  will  be  seen  that  these  remarks  are  not 
wholly  a  digression,  but  have  a  bearing  on  the 
subject  before  us. 

3.  The  great  object  of  all  religious  instruction 
whether  from  the  pulpit,  or  in  the  family  or  the 
Sabbath  school,  is  the  holiness  of  those  whom  we 
instruct ;  or  in   other  words,  their  conversion  and 
sanctification. 

There  seem  to  be  two  different  views  on  this 
subject,  both  among  ministers  and  teachers.  Some 
of  both  classes  leave  the  immediate  conversion  of 
children  almost  wholly  out  of  sight.  They  scarcely 
expect  it.  And  what  they  do  not  expect,  of  course, 
seldom  happens.  They  would  even  be  surprised 
should  such  a  thing  take  place,  as  the  conversion  of 
a  child  under  their  care.  Others,  however,  make 
it  their  whole  business  to  effect  the  conversion  of 
their  pupils,  and  appear  to  think  all  their  labor  lost, 
if  not  worse  than  lost,  when  no  such  conversions 
take  place.  Indeed  there  are  not  a  few  who  are 
almost  impatient  with  their  classes  because  they 
cannot  have  them  at  once  become  disciples  of  Christ ; 
and  I  have  known  them  really  complain  about  it, 
with  a  good  deal  of  bitterness. 

Now  it  appears  to  me  that  in  both  of  these 
courses  of  conduct  there  is  error.  No  doubt  the 
great  object  of  every  teacher — the  ultimate  object  I 
mean — should  be  to  effect  the  conversion  of  his  pu- 


34  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

pils,  and  to  lead  them  onward  in  the  path  towards 
heaven.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  youngest 
child  ordinarily  found  in  the  Sabbath  school  should 
not  give  his  heart  wholly  to  the  Savior,  as  much  as  if 
he  were  older.  Indeed  the  difficulties  increase  with 
■  every  year,  after  a  sense  of  right  and  wrong  begins 
to  be  manifested,  and  are  fewest  at  the  first.  Still 
repentance  and  faith  must  be  voluntary,  as  well  in 
the  child  as  in  the  adult,  nor  should  the  former — 
nor  can  they  in  fact — be  driven  into  religion  any 
more  than  the  latter.  The  child  is  a  free  agent,  as 
well  as  the  man. 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted,  therefore,  that  not 
a  few  Sabbath  school  teachers,  as  well  as  ignorant 
parents,  though  possessed  of  the  very  best  intentions 
in  regard  to  their  pupils  or  children,  do  as  certainly 
defeat  their  own  dearest  purposes,  as  can  be.  How 
have  I  been  pained  to  see  excellent  men  and  wo- 
men sit  for  a  whole  half  hour,  after  their  pupils 
have  recited  their  lessons,  and  lecture  them  on  the 
depravity  of  the  human  heart,  the  necessity  of  re- 
generation, the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
certainty  of  the  everlasting  punishment  of  the  wick- 
ed, &c. ;  and  this  not  merely  for  once,  but  every 
time  they  meet  them.  It  is  exceedingly  strange  to 
me  that  these  teachers  and  parents  do  not  see  their 
error.  For  how  important  soever  it  may  be  to  pre- 
sent these  doctrines  to  the  understanding  of  the 


AS   IT   SHOULD   BE.  35 

young,  this  perpetual  bringing  them  up  and  placing 
them  before  their  minds,  and  always  in  nearly  the 
same  order  and  succession,  if  it  does  not  at  once  in- 
duce abiding  convictions  of  sin — which  it  very  sel- 
dom does— as  inevitably  hardens  the  human  heart, 
young  and  tender  and  susceptible  though  it  may 
be,  as  if  this  were  the  whole  intention. 

My  readers  will  now  be  likely  to  understand 
me,  w^hen  I  speak  of  making  infidels  in  the  Sabbath 
school ;  for  the  process  to  w^hich  I  have  alluded  is 
one  of  the  most  efficient  instruments  to  this  effect. 
And  I  often  tremble  when  I  see  the  machinery  to 
■which  I  allude,  in  effectual  operation.  One  of  the 
more  painful  considerations,  however,  is  that  they 
who  move  it  are  only  doing  that  which,  in  the  be- 
nevolence of  their  hearts,  they  suppose  to  be  right.  If 
there  be  men  and  women  of  prayer  among  us,  it  is  they. 
If  there  be  those  who  desire  to  follow  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  to  finish  the  w^ork  he  has  given 
them  to  do,  it  is  they.  If  there  be  benevolence 
among  us,  it  is  theirs.  In  short  if  there  be  real,  de- 
voted, eflfectual  piety  among  us,  it  is  often  found  to 
be  in  the  possession  of  the  very  class  of  Sabbath 
school  teachers  I  am  now  describing.  And  yet 
their  piety  will  not  prove  a  perfect  guide  to  the  un- 
derstanding. There  is  much  of  ignorance  yet 
clinging  to  the  best  of  men.  There  is  much  of  ig- 
norance   abroad   everywhere,    in    all    society,  es- 


36  THE  SABBATH   SCHOOL 

pecially  in  regard  to  the  structure  of  the  human 
mind.  But,  as  I  was  about  to  say,  the  worst  diffi- 
culty we  have  to  surmount,  in  all  our  attempts  at 
improvement,  is  the  self  confidence  of  these  very 
persons.  Just  as  certainly  as  you  find  a  person, 
whether  in  the  Sabbath  school  or  elswhere,  who  is 
thus  sadly  deficient  in  the  most  important  qualifi- 
cations of  a  teacher,  just  in  the  same  proportion  does 
he  value  himself  on  this  very  trait  or  qualification. 
You  may  allude  to  his  ignorance  of  science,  or  in- 
deed of  the  Bible,  or  of  every  thing  else,  and  he 
may  bear  and  perhaps  admit  it.  But  the  moment 
he  knows  you  suspect  his  want  of  knowledge  of  the 
human  mind,  or  as  he  himself  calls  it,  of  human 
nature,  that  moment  he  loses  confidence  in  you,  and 
it  is  well  if  he  do  not  think  himself  traduced  or 
slandered. 

I  never  yet  knew  such  a  teacher,  who  would 
not  attribute  all  his  want  of  success — for  a  want  of 
success  is  sometimes  admitted,  i.  e.  a  want  of  success 
in  his  efforts  to  convert  the  child  — to  something  of 
defect  in  the  things  or  arrangements  around  him, 
rather  than  himself.  The  lessons  are  not  such  as 
they  should  be,  they  are  too  long  or  too  short,  or 
too  difficult ;  or  the  superintendent  does  not  pursue 
the  right  sort  of  method  or  plan,  or  does  not  use  the 
right  books  ;  or  the  parents  do  not  co-operate  w^ith 
him  in  his  efforts  ;  or  the  pupils  are  unmanageable. 


AS  IT    SHOULD   BE.  37 

A  thousand  complaints  will  he  make,  and  in  a  thou- 
sand forms,  and  yet  not  one  of  them  will  be  uttered 
against  himself.  Whereas  the  good  teacher  attri- 
butes his  want  of  success,  even  when  his  sole 
aim  may  be  to  produce  an  immediate  effect, 
to  his  own  want  of  skill  or  tact  to  apply  the  truth — 
to  his  want  of  knowledge  of  himself  or  of  the  chil- 
dren whom  he  instructs — to  any  thing,  in  fact,  con- 
nected with  himself,  rather  than  throw  the  blame 
on  others.  Others  may  indeed  be  at  fault,  but  he 
will  first  look  for  the  fault  in  himself.  There  are 
no  circumstances  so  unfavorable  but  that  the  teach- 
er, who  understands  human  nature  as  it  is,  may  do 
something.  And  yet  while  I  suppose  one  ultimate 
aim  should  be  the  conversion  of  the  pupils,  there  is 
a  great  deal  to  be  done  in  the  Sabbath  school  short 
of  immediate  eiforts  in  this  particular  direction. 

For  while  it  is  most  cheerfully  admitted  that 
knowledge — mere  knowledge — never  tends  to  save 
the  soul,  and  that  the  humble  follower  of  Christ, 
though  ever  so  ignorant,  is  to  be  greatly  preferred 
to  the  most  learned  philosopher,  who  is  an  atheist 
or  an  infidel,  still  I  cannot  help  believing  and  insist- 
ing that  even  this  same  humble  though  ignorant 
disciple  would  be  a  thousand  times  more  valuable 
as  a  member  of  society,  to  say  nothing  of  an  in- 
crease of  enjoyrpent  in  his  own  bosom,  were  he 
properly  instructed  in  the  sciences, — such  of  them  I 

4 


38  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

mean,  as  tend  to  expand  the  mind  and  give  a  clearer 
insight  than  before  of  the  Creator's  laws. 

There  is,  therefore,  a  vast  amount  of  what  might 
be  called  collateral  instruction,  which,  -with  a  wise 
reference  to  the  future  conversion  of  a  child,  should 
be  given  somewhere.  Much  of  it  should  indeed  be 
given  in  the  day  school ;  but  some  portions  of  it,  if 
neglected  there,  should  be  given  in  the  Sabbath 
school.  I  speak  not  now  of  the  mathematics  or  the 
languages,  or  even  of  philosophy,  chemistry,  anat- 
omy or  physiology,  so  much  as  of  those  things 
and  sciences  which  serve  as  aids  in  the  reading 
and  study  of  the  Bible.  I  refer  to  a  knowledge  of 
ancient  customs  and  manners,  and  of  the  history  and 
geography  of  those  countries  w^hich  are  mentioned 
so  often  in  the  Bible,  and  of  which  the  large  majority 
of  a  Christian  community  generally  know  so  little. 

It  is  indeed  a  well  established  fact  that  the 
work  of  conversion  seems  of  itself  to  give  an  im- 
pulse to  the  intellectual  powers.  Forster,  in  his 
work  on  Popular  Ignorance,  in  speaking  of  the 
results  of  regeneration  to  the  intellect,  thus  ob- 
serves :  "  We  have  known  instances  in  w^hich  the 
change,  the  intellectual  change,  has  been  so  con- 
spicuous, within  a  brief  space  of  time,  that  even  an 
infidel  observer  must  hav^e  forfeited  all  claim  to  be 
esteemed  a  man  of  sense,  if  he  would  not  acknow- 
ledge, '  This  that  you  call  divine  grace,  whatever 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  39 

it  may  really  be,  is  the  strangest  awakener  of  fac- 
ulties after  all.'  "  And  he  does  not  hesitate  to  draw, 
at  once,  the  following  inference ;  that,  "  if  religion 
is  so  auspicious  to  the  intellectual  faculties,  the  cul- 
tivation and  exercise  of  those  faculties  must  be 
of  great  advantage  to  religion."  I  believe  this 
tendency  of  religion  to  enlarge  the  intellectual  do- 
main, to  bring  out  and  cause  to  bloom,  in  all  the 
freshness  of  vernal  beauty,  a  plant  which  has  been 
ten,  twenty — it  may  be  tifty  or  sixty — years  under  a 
blast  more  malignant  not  to  say  destructive  than 
the  sirocco  itself,  has  been  very  much  overlooked ; 
and  as  a  powerful  internal  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
the  Christian  religion,  (to  which  it  seems  to  me  en- 
titled,) I  have  never  known  it  advanced  or  employed. 
But  this  is  not  to  be  the  subject  of  my  remarks 
at  the  present  time.  I  have  only  introduced  it  to 
show,  incidentally,  that  piety  without  light  to  direct 
it,  though  it  may  save  the  soul  which  is  warmed  by 
it,  is  yet  of  comparatively  little  importance  to  the 
world  ;  and  to  prepare  the  mind  of  my  hearers  for 
the  statement  that  one  great  object  of  Sabbath 
school  instruction  should  be  to  lead  the  minds  of 
the  pupils  into  such  a  train  as  will  render  them  ten 
times  more  useful  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  should  they 
ever  be  converted  to  it,  than  otherwise  they  would 
become.  It  is  one  thing  to  be  saved,  as  Paul  ex- 
presses it,  "so  as  by  fire;"  and  it  is  quite  another 


40  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

thing  to  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever.  It  is 
much,  indeed,  to  beconae  but  doorkeepers  in  the  house 
of  our  God ;  but  it  is  infinitely  better  to  be  the 
favored  and  honored  instruments  of  turning  many 
to  righteousness,  and  to  reap  the  eternal  reward 
therewith  connected. 

I  must  honestly  confess,  that  in  attempting  the 
conversion  of  my  fellow  men  to  that  low  standard 
of  piety,  which  Christian  example  at  present  often 
affords,  I  have  at  times  many  misgivings.  The  ch  urch 
seem  to  me,  at  times,  to  have  gone  through  with 
what  might  be  called  the  stereotyping  process. 
And  such  too  is  the  condition,  very  often,  of  our 
Sabbath  schools.  The  effort  seems  to  be  to  bring 
men  and  women  and  children  into  the  kingdom,  but 
having  once  brought  them  in,  all  our  toils — and 
theirs  too — are  over.  Then,  having  been  the  in- 
struments of  snatching  them  from  the  fire,  we,  no 
less  than  they,  seem  to  think  we  may  sit  down  and 
bask  passively  in  the  sunshine  of  the  Redeemer's 
smiles,  not  only  in  this  world  but  in  that  which  is  to 
come. 

4.  Now  I  would  not  only  have  onr  Sabbath  school 
children  become  Christians,  but  Christians  of  a  very 
different  stamp  from  all  this.  I  would  have  them 
grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord 
and  Savior,  every  day  after  their  conversion.  I 
should  almost  dread  to  have  them  converted,  if  they 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  41 

must  be  converted  to  this  stereotyped  sort  of  Chris- 
tianity— this  halfway  rehgion.  I  wish  to  have 
them  not  only  brought  within  the  kingdom,  but  led 
to  make  high  advances,  afterwards.  It  is  some- 
thing to  escape,  barely,  from  the  flames  of  hell 
and  to  get  within  the  courts  of  heaven  ;  but  it  is 
much  more  to  ascend  to  those  points  of  excellence, 
now  occupied  by  Gabriel  and  Raphael,  and  the 
whole  host  of  celestial  inhabitants;  and  to  have 
even  these  heights  but  as  the  beginning  of  our  pro- 
gress, 

I  shall  show,  hereafter,  what  are  some  of  the. 
methods  of  preparing  our  youth  of  both  sexes,  by 
Sabbath  school  instruction,  to  be  thriving  Chris- 
tians, should  they  ever  become  Christians  at  all.  It 
is  the  thriving  Christian  who  will  be  apt  to  glorify 
God,  and  who  alone  will  truly  enjoy  him  forever. 
But  in  order  to  thrive,  he  must  have  food.  Neither 
the  soul  nor  the  body  can  thrive,  or  so  much  as 
exist  long,  without  nourishment.  But  spiritual  food 
will  not  be  taken,  in  sufficient  measure,  unless  it  is 
relished.  Now  Sabbath  school  instruction,  if  it  can- 
not quite  impart  this  relish,  can  at  least  prepare  the 
way  for  it.  It  can  inspire  the  young  with  the  love 
of  improvement.  Or  should  even  this  be  denied,  it 
can  at  least  keep  alive  the  youthful  curiosity  to 
know  instead  of  smothering  it,  as  has  often  been 
done  by  an  improper  method  of  communication. 
4* 


42  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

5.  Many  of  the  efforts  of  our  better  and  I  may  say 
more  improved  teachers — not  certainly  our  stereo- 
typed ones — are  necessarily  expended  in  endeavor- 
ing to  lead  their  pupils  to  thought  and  inquiry.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  hot  winds  of  some  eastern  des- 
ert had  passed  over  a  large  proportion  of  the  ordi- 
nary young  minds  of  our  Sabbath  schools,  and 
seared  them.  The  pupils  will  not  think ;  and  if 
they  would,  they  cannot.  This  state  of  mind  must 
be  removed  before  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of 
improvement;  and  to  effect  this,  nothing  is  better 
than  Bible  instruction,  if  it  is  properly  and  judicious- 
ly managed. 

Nor  is  the  task,  as  it  seems  to  me,  very  difficult. 
I  have  never  yet  found  a  child,  however  much  his 
mental  faculties  had  been  abused  or  perverted,  who 
had  no  straggling  remains  about  him  of  his  native 
youthful  curiosity.  What  is  wanted  in  such  a  case, 
is  to  strengthen  the  things  that  remain,  but  are 
ready  to  die ;  to  kindle  into  a  flame  the  latent  spark 
which  seemed  nearly  to  have  disappeared. 

6.  Another  object  of  the  Sabbath  school  is  to  teach 
the  laws  of  God  in  the  human  frame.  For  while 
I  believe  that  "man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God 
and  enjoy  him  forever,"  as  much  as  did  the  framers 
of  the  Assembly  of  Divines'  Catechism,  I  believe 
also  with  Paul  that  it  is  our  duty  to  glorify  God 
with  body  and  spirit  both,  since  both  are  alike  his. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  43 

But  what  do  we  mean  by  glorifying  God  in  our 
bodies  ?  No  doubt  you  will  tell  me,  in  the  spirit  of 
Paul  and  John,  that  it  is  to  keep  our  bodies  in  sub- 
jection. But  in  subjection  to  what  ?  Here  is  the 
question.  The  Bible  determines  it  in  part,  but  only 
in  part;  just  as  it  only  enjoins,  in  part,  our  duties 
to  magistrates  and  others,  although  it  encom-ages 
obedience  thereto.  Do  you  say  that  though  I  began 
by  yielding  my  assent  to  the  Catechism,  I  here  de- 
part from  it ;  since  that  Catechism  tells  us  that  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  the 
only  rule  to  direct  us  houi  we  may  glorify  God  and 
enjoy  him  ?  I  doubt  whether  there  are  many  who 
esteem  that  Catechism  more  highly  than  I  do.  Yet 
it  is  by  no  means  given  by  inspiration  ;  and  I  must 
be  permitted  to  claim  the  right  of  dissenting  from 
a  single  paragraph  or  rather  from  a  single  clause  of 
it.  Many  years  ago,  while  I  was  a  district  school 
teacher  and  was  accustomed  to  teach  it  to  my  pu- 
pils, I  thought  I  discovered  an  error  in  the  second 
response ;  I  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  it,  to  my 
district  school  people,  as  slightly  erroneous,  and  to 
say  to  them,  without  any  particular  explanation  or 
apology,  that  I  could  not  receive  it  without  substitu- 
ting the  word  principal  for  oi}ly. 

The  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
are  not  the  only  rule,  to  direct  us  in  the  business  of 
glorifying   God.       They   encourage    obedience,   I 


44  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

know,  to  all  the  laws  of  God ;  since  without  this 
entire  obedience  God  could  not  be  so  well  glorified. 
But  they  by  no  means  tell  us,  I  say  again,  what  all 
those  laws  are.  There  are  the  laws  of  gravitation, 
the  law  of  magnetic  attraction,  the  laws  of  elec- 
tricity, the  laws  of  human  life,  &c. ;  and  it  is  as 
much  our  duty  to  study  and  obey  these,  when  and 
where  we  can,  as  it  is  to  study  and  obey  the  ten 
commandments.  Especially  is  it  our  duty  to  study 
and  obey  the  laws  which  obtain  in  and  about  the 
human  frame. 

This  obhgation,  however,  to  study  and  obey  the 
whole  law  of  God,  even  his  code  of  natural  law, 
does  not  necessarily  determine  that  we  should  study 
that  law  in  the  Sabbath  school ;  and  I  would  by  no 
means  encourage  a  practice  of  doing  so  if  it  could 
well  be  avoided.  In  fact  I  would  gladly  have  a 
large  part  of  what  is  now  taught  in  the  Sabbath 
school  inculcated  on  week-days,  in  the  district  school 
and  elsewhere,  were  it  possible.  Since  this  is  not 
done,  however,  and  since  the  work  of  religious  in- 
struction in  the  Bible  is  in  these  days  of  bustle  and 
luxury  and  parade,  almost  crowded  out  of  the  fami- 
ly too,  even  on  the  Sabbath,  I  am  in  favor  of  the 
Sabbath  school  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  But  this 
same  reason — I  mean  so  far  as  this  reason  goes — 
why  I  would  teach  the  moral  and  religious  laws  in 
the  Sabbath  school  is  equally  good  in  favor  of  in- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  45 

culcating,  in  these  same  schools,  the  laws  of  the 
human  frame. 

Besides  this,  there  is  another  reason  why  I  would 
teach  the  laws  of  life  and  health,  especially  the  laws 
of  animal  life,  in  the  Sabbath  school.  And  Arch- 
bishop Paley  has  told  us — and  I  never  heard  the 
proposition  disputed — -that  there  is  no  habit  so  ex- 
cellent as  that  of  studying  natural  history — the  his- 
tory of  men,  animals,  plants,  etc,  especially — and 
constantly  referring  the  wisdom  and  goodness  which 
we  see  manifested  everywhere,  to  the  Deity.  Now 
there  is  no  one  of  the  animals  more  fearfully  and 
wonderfully  made  than  man ;  and  therefore,  in  the 
study  of  none  of  them,  would  the  habit  of  looking 
through  nature  up  to  nature's  God,  be  more  rapidly 
acquired  than  in  the  study  of  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology. 

I  say,  therefore,  that  if  both  teachers  and  parents 
are  know^n  to  neglect  these  studies,  they  should  be 
attended  to,  if  possible,  in  the  Sabbath  school.  How 
to  do  this,  that  is,  how  to  render  it  possible — for  it 
is  a  work  of  some  difficulty — will  be  shown  in  ano- 
ther chapter. 

I  would  not,  of  course,  introduce  the  study  faster 
than  I  could  prepare  the  w^ay  for  it ;  for  this  would 
be  to  degrade  alike  the  teacher  and  the  law.  I  hold 
it  however  to  be  a  self-evident  proposition  that  what- 
ever ought  to  be  done  can  be  done ;  and  if  I  succeed 


46  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

in  showino-  that  the  natural  laws  of  God  ought  to  be 
taught  in  the  Sabbath  school,  I  believe  there  must 
be  a  proper  way  of  introducing  the  subject. 

Should  a  doubt  still  linger  in  the  mind  of  any 
whether  the  study  of  the  laws  of  the  human  frame — 
the  stndy  of  anatomy  and  physiology — is  not  after 
all  quite  foreign  to  the  Sabbath  school,  that  doubt 
might  possibly  be  removed  by  referring  to  the  testi- 
mony of  pious  medical  men.  I  will  not  indeed  ad- 
vert to  the  opinion  of  Paley,  as  developed  in  his 
Natural  Theology,  because  he  was  not  properly  a 
medical  man.  I  will  refer  you  at  once  to  Dr.  Bell 
of  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Reynolds  of  Boston,  who,  with 
a  host  of  living  authors  and  teachers,  have  given  their 
testimony  on  the  subject. 

Dr.  Bell  has  wiitten  a  small  volume  entitled 
"  Lessons  on  the  Human  Frame,"  designed  in  part,  as 
we  may  judge  by  the  preface,ybr  the  Sabbath  school. 
He  there  says :  "  In  the  following  pages  an  attempt 
has  been  made  to  exhibit  some  parts  of  the  curious 
W'orkmanship  of  the  human  body."  The  design 
of  the  volume  is  to  impress  on  the  mind  the  great  truth 
that  the  self-existent  God  is  the  maker  of  all  things, 
and  that  he  has  made  them  all  well.  The  author 
uses  the  conversations  of  a  pious  physician  with  his 
son ;  and  the  topics  and  illustrations  are  believed  to 
be  generally  intelligible  to  youth  attending  Sunday 
and  daily  schools.     And  you  who  are  parents  have 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  47 

only  to  read  the  work  to  be  convinced  that  it  is  not 
only  intelligible  to  the  youth  of  Sunday  schools,  but 
adapted  to  their  wants,  and  that  the  author  designed 
it  to  be  so. 

Here  I  might  also  present  to  you  the  contents  of 
a  letter,  now  in  my  possession,  which  I  received  from 
Dr.  Reynolds  of  Boston  a  few  years  ago,  while  he 
was  acting  as  superintendent  of  the  Sabbath  school 
connected  with  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  regard  to  ray 
little  book  for  juvenile  students  in  anatomy,  entitled 
"The  House  I  live  in."  I  will  however  merely 
make  an  extract  or  two  from  it,  bearing  upon  the 
general  principle  which  I  am  now  defending. 

"I  think,"  says  he,  "just  such  books  as  this 
would  form  a  valuable  addition  to  our  Sunday  school 
libraries.  In  the  selection  of  these  has  not  the  book 
of  nature  been  too  much  overlooked  ;  and  have  we 
not  forgotten  the  deep  interest  with  which  children 
look  over  its  pages  ?  The  obvious  tendency  of  a 
series  of  little  books  like  this  upon  anatomy,  botany, 
and  other  kindred  sciences,  prepared  with  a  reference 
to  morality  and  religion,  upon  the  minds  of  the  young, 
would  be  to  lead  them  from  nature  up  to  nature's  God, 
and  supply  a  deficiency  in  Sunday  school  libraries." 

It  is  true  that  Dr.  R.  does  not  recommend  the 
study  of  such  books  as  class  exercises;  nor  do  I 
venture  to  do  it  at  present.  But  if  the  information 
which  they  contain  is  as  well  adapted  to  the  Sabbath 


48  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

school  library  as  he  represents  it  to  be,  then  is  the 
communication  of  that  information,  in  the  Sabbath 
school  class,  and  in  connection  with  other  topics  as 
it  may  naturally  come  up,  not  only  proper,  but  de- 
sirable. Children  will  hardly  be  likely  to  select  or 
read  such  books,  or  their  parents  to  encourage  them 
to  do  so,  till  teachers  have  excited  a  thirst  for  the 
information  they  contain,  by  their  occasional  re- 
marks and  illustrations.  On  this  point,  however — 
the  right  method  of  communication — I  shall  say 
something  when  I  come  to  speak  of  "  Methods  of 
Instruction." 

I  greatly  desire  to  see  this  bringing  the  body  into 
subjection,  of  which  I  have  said  so  much  in  my  other 
writings,  made  a  matter  of  conscience.  But  a  mat- 
ter of  conscience  I  greatly  fear  it  wnll  not  be  made, 
until  the  sciences  of  anatomy  and  physiology  are  more 
closely  connected  with  the  study  of  religion,  and  re- 
garded in  fact,  as  religious  things.  I  acknowledge 
indeed,  that  many  religious  people  try  to  obey  the 
natural  laws,  as  far  as  they  understand  them  j  that 
is,  they  have  a  confused  notion  that  there  is  a  sort 
of  propriety  in  obeying  them,  and  that  it  conduces 
to  health,  which  they  think  it  profitable  to  attend  to. 
But  to  regard  every  departure  from  the  natural  laws 
of  God,  when  the  departure  is  voluntary,  as  offensive 
to  God,  and  positively  sinful,  is  exceedingly  rare, 
even  among  our  best  people. 


AS   IT    SHOULD   BE.  49 

Some  there  are  among  us — men,  too,  whom  I 
highly  esteem  and  love — who  think  it  (iecidedly 
wrong  to  speak  of  disobedience  to  the  natural  laws, 
especially  the  laws  of  the  human  frame,  as  sinful. 
They  say  it  lowers  down — secularizes,  to  coin  a 
term — the  sacredness  of  the  moral  law,  and  its  sanc- 
tions, rewards  and  penalties.*  Now  if  I  believed  in 
any  such  result  as  this — and  even  if  I  believed  the 
result  possible — I  would  put  my  hand  on  my  mouth 
in  this  respect  forever. 

Such,  however,  it  may  confidently  be  believed, 
can  never  be  the  case.  On  the  contrary  one  of  the 
principal  reasons  why  moral  law  has  fallen  into  dis- 
repute has  been  an  obvious  want  of  conscientious- 
ness among  Christians  in  regard  to  this  very  matter. 
The  common  sense  of  mankind,  had  Paul  been  silent 
on  the  subject,  would  tell  them,  plainly  enough,  that 
whether  we  eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  we  do,  we 
should  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God.  But  every  ob- 
serving person  knows  full  well,  that  even  the  profess- 
ing people  of  God  do  not  make  it  the  fixed  purpose  of 
their  lives  to  do  every  thing  in  such  a  manner,  that  the 
glory  of  God  will  be  promoted  thereby. 

The  fact  is — and  I    assert  it  with  much  confi- 

*  I  have  been  cautioned,  in  this  matter,  both  by  private 
friendly  letters,  and  in  the  usual  way  of  criticism  in  the  pub- 
lic journals,  and  have  been  entreated  to  desist;  yet  not  a  fact 
has  been  advanced  to  convince  me  I  am  wrong ;  and  I  can  never 
yield  the  convictions  of  my  judgment  to  mere  opinion  without 
knowing  the  grounds  of  that  opinion. 


50  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

dence — that  the  great  mass  of  the  Christian  world, 
even  here  in  the  most  enhghtened  part  of  it,  do  not 
beheve  that  there  is  any  right  and  wrong  in  the 
sight  of  God,  in  the  common  actions  of  life.  A 
few  of  the  more  sacred  duties  of  the  week  day,  a  few 
of  its  larger  acts,  and  the  duties  and  deeds  of  the  Sab- 
bath are  thought  to  be  holy  or  sinful,  that  is,  pleasing 
or  displeasing  to  God.  But  as  for  the  rest  of  the 
actions  of  life,  the  majority  of  God's  own  people, 
though  they  might  not  be  ready  to  express  their  un- 
belief in  words,  have  no  more  idea — practically  so  I 
mean  — that  they  are  sinful  or  otherwise  in  the  sight 
of  God,  than  they  have  that  the  brutes  around  them, 
in  their  gambols  and  eating  and  drinking,  are  ac- 
countable to  their  divine  Author. 

Now  I  maintain — and  I  believe  that,  did  the 
time  and  place  admit,  the  belief  might  be  sustained 
by  evidence — that  all  this  practical  unbelief  and 
voluntary  and  involuntary  transgression  of  the  laws 
of  God,  without  regarding  them  as  sinful,  tends  to 
benumb,  or  at  least  to  blunt  the  conscience  in  regard 
to  moral  law.  I  believe  that  he  who  has  the  habit 
of  looking  at  every  thing — whatever  it  may  be,  and 
however  large  or  small  the  act — as  holy  or  sinful, 
positively  so,  that  is  either  pleasing  or  displeasing 
to  God,  will  find  in  himself  a  tenderness  of  conscience, 
a  solemn  regard  to  riglit  and  wrong  as  to  the  moral 
law  of  God,  of  which  others  have  no  conception.    I 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  51 

mean  it  will  be  so  if  his  moral  and  religious  charac- 
ter is  in  all  other  respects  equal  to  that  of  those  be- 
tween whom  and  himself  the  comparison  is  made. 
So  that  instead  of  bringing  down  the  moral  law  by 
teaching  the  sinfulness  of  disobedience  to  natural 
law,  we  actually  elevate  it.  We  extend  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Creator  over  a  part  of  his  domain 
which  had  before  been  wrested  from  him ;  and  leave 
his  sovereignty  and  his  laws  in  greater  respect  and 
honor  than  they  were  before. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  I  advise  to  a  course  of  in- 
struction which  is  secular.  By  no  means.  I  en- 
courage nothing  which  has  not  been  done  in  our 
Sabbath  schools,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  All  I 
do  which  has  the  least  semblance  of  heresy  in  this 
respect  consists  in  dwelling  long  upon  and  making 
much  of  parts  which  some  teachers — and  these  not 
a  few  either — touch  but  slightly,  though  they  seldom 
pass  them  wholly  over ;  and  in  introducing  the  study 
of  the  Creator's  natural  laws. 

7.  One  advantage  likely  to  be  derived  from  Sab- 
bath schools — one,  in  fact,  which  has  always  been 
secured,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  by  them — is  the 
personal  3mprovem2nt  of  the  teachers.  I  will  not 
undertake  to  say,  here,  that  Sabbath  schools  are  a 
suitable  means  for  the  conversion  of  teachers ;  for 
as  a  general  rule  I  do  not  like  the  idea  -of  having 
unconverted  teachers  employed  in  this  work,  although 


52  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

in  particular  cases,  it  may  be  necessary.  What  I 
refer  to  is  the  progressive  sanctification  of  the 
teachers.  The  Scriptures  say,  "  He  that  watereth 
shall  be  watered  also  himself." 

It  appears  to  be  a  part  of  the  constitution  of 
things,  as  that  constitution  was  established  by  the 
Creator  himself,  that  raan  shall  be  happy  in  propor- 
tion as  he  seeks  to  make  others  happy  ;  and  misera- 
ble just  in  proportion  as  he  makes  others  miserable, 
or  seeks  their  misery.  But  the  phrase.  He  that 
watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself,  is  more 
striking  in  its  application  to  benevolent  efforts  to 
make  mankind  holier  or  better,  than  to  those  efforts 
which  are  merely  directed  to  the  increase  of  human 
knowledge. 

So  far  as  can  be  judged  from  outward  appear- 
ances, it  is  commonly  thought  that  all  benevolent  ef- 
fort is  a  work  of  self-denial  or  self-sacrifice.  Very 
few,  indeed,  appear  to  understand  the  full  intention 
of  those  portions  of  Scripture  which  assure  us  that 
"  the  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat ;"  "  he  that 
watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself;"  "  give  and 
it  shall  be  given  unto  you;  good  measure,  pressed 
together  and  running  over,  shall  men  give  into  your 
bosom  ;"  "  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive ;"  and  "  there  is  no  man  that  hath  left  house, 
or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father  or  mother,  or  wife 
or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's, 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  53 

but  he  shall  receive  a  hundred  fold,  nov/  in  this 
time;"  &c. 

Not  only  are  all  works  of  charity  considered 
as  so  much  loss  of  time  and  effort  to  the  individual 
who  makes  them,  but  when  money  is  included  in  the 
charity,  this  also  is  supposed  to  be  lost.  I  have  often 
wondered  why  it  is  that  those  who  read  the  record 
of  Jesus  Christ,  in  their  own  native  tongue,  should 
fail  to  recognize  this  great  doctrine  of  the  blessed- 
ness of  giving  or  communicating ;  and  thus  by  ne- 
glecting to  do  the  good  they  have  it  in  their  power 
to  do,  lose  more  than  half  Ihe  blessedness  to  which, 
under  the  Christian  scheme,  they  are  fairly  entitled. 
But  so  it  is.  Mankind  do,  practically,  almost  with- 
out exception — the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
contrary  nothwithstanding — consider  themselves  not 
only  deprived  of  their  property  to  the  extent  of  each 
individual  act  of  pecuniary  charity,  but  also  render- 
ed, in  the  same  proportion,  less  happy  on  the  whole. 
They  suppose  that  the  whole  or  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  blessedness  of  this  world — I  was  going  to  say 
of  the  world  to  come — consists  in  receiving  ;  and 
thus  make  the  measure  of  their  receipts,  the  measure 
of  their  blessedness  or  happiness. 

Perhaps  it  is  idle  or  worse  than  idle  to  inveigh 
against  so  universal  an  error,  especially  in  a  work 
like  this.  And  yet  I  wish  the  friends  of  Sabbath 
schools  wuuld  try  to  get  rid  of  it.     Let  them  be 

5* 


54  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

thankful  to  God  that  he  has  given  them  so  glorious 
an  opportunity  of  conferring  happiness,  or  at  least 
of  attempting  it  j  and  of  securing  to  themselves  so 
large  an  amount  of  blessedness. 

If  there  are  in  the  United  States  a  million  and  a 
half  of  Sabbath  school  pupils — and  I  suspect  there 
may  be  nearly  this  number — then  the  number  of 
teachers,  including  superintendents,  librarians,  &c., 
cannot,  one  would  be  apt  to  think,  be  less  than 
200,000.  Perhaps  it  would  be  found  on  a  close  inspec- 
tion to  be  250,000.  A  formidable  host  of  benefac- 
tors, or  at  least  a  very  numerous  one.  Would  that 
they  were  all  what  they  should  be — as  wise  as  ser- 
pents and  as  harmless  as  doves  !  Would  that,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  love  they  now  have  for  the  souls  com- 
mitted to  their  charge,  they  could  feel  the  full  force 
of  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,"  that  they  might  seek,  with 
greater  diligence,  to  increase  the  flame  of  divine  love 
in  doing  still  greater  good  than  they  are  now  doing  ! 

I  have  elsewhere  more  than  hinted  at  the  vast 
amount  of  labor  which  devolves  on  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  in  one  of  our  New  England  parishes.  But 
the  Sabbath  school  comes  to  his  relief,  and  brings  a 
host  of  sub-ministers,  as  they  might  be  called,  who 
perform  a  great  deal  of  work  which  but  for  their  ef- 
forts must  forever  remain  undone ;  to  say  nothing  of 
the  tendency  of  the  Sabbath  school  to  raise  up  a 


AS   IT   SHOULD   BE.  55 

host  of  young  men  who  will  ultimately  become  min- 
isters,— in  the  largest  sense  of  the  term — of  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  itself. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  divines  in  our  coun- 
try regards  it  as  the  business  of  the  gospel  minister, 
to  make  all  his  people  ministers,  that  is,  practically 
and  really.  And  it  was  generally  understood  that 
what  this  able  divine  believed,  he  struggled  hard 
against  the  native  indolence  of  his  people  to  put  in 
practice ;  nor  were  his  labors  wholly  unsuccessful. 
There  were  during  a  great  part  of  the  year  from 
four  to  eight  large  adult  Bible  classes  connected  with 
his  congregation,  and  a  very  large  and  flourish- 
ing Sabbath  school,  besides  numerous  associations 
for  mutual  exhortation,  union  in  prayer,  &c. 

If  it  should  be  said  that  such  multitudinous  labors 
on  the  part  of  laymen  cannot  long  be  continued, 
I  grant  it,  and  for  two  reasons  ;  1,  because  they  are 
gratuitous,  and  2,  because  mankind  have  not  yet 
learned  to  understand  or  at  least  to  value  rightly  the 
blessedness  of  doing  good.  Were  it  not  for  these 
two  difficulties,  I  see  not  why  every  church  might 
not  and  should  not  be  a  body  of  lay-ministers — 
lay-missionaries  rather — and  why  they  might  not 
experience,  as  the  result,  that  growth  in  grace  and 
in  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  should  correspond 
to  such  an  amount  of  labor  and  charity. 

There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  church  of 


56  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

Christ  when  every  church  member — every  male 
member  at  least — regarded  himself  as  a  missionary, 
and  acted  accordingly  ;  going  daily  from  house 
to  house,  conversing,  exhorting,  encouraging,  and 
strengthening,  as  the  nature  of  the  circumstances 
seemed  to  require.  How  they  and  their  families 
were  supported,  at  all  times,  does  not  so  plainly  ap- 
pear ;  but  I  suppose  this  was  not  a  first  concern  with 
them.  As  it  was  afterward  with  Paul,  so  I  suppose 
it  must  have  been  with  the  rest  of  the  first  disciples — 
that  being  brought  up  Jews,  they  had  each  a  trade 
by  means  of  which  they  could  find  time  to  step  aside 
from  their  lay-ministry  and  earn  a  livelihood.  Per- 
haps, however,  there  w^as  property  enough  among 
them  all  for  the  support  of  all ;  and  we  know  they 
had,  for  a  time,  all  things  in  common. 

How  much  I  wish  the  same  general  spirit  could 
be  made  to  prevail  among  the  modern  disciples  of 
Christ !  I  wish  all  who  have  taken  upon  them  the 
Christian  name  would  consider  themselves  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  reforming  their  fellow  men,  and  that 
they  would  feel  themselves  to  be  lay-ministers,  hav- 
ing it  for  their  first  business  to  seek  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  its  righteousness,  fully  assured  that  in 
doing  so,  all  things  necessary  for  the  support  of  them- 
selves and  their  families  would,  in  the  divine  Provi- 
dence, be  added.  But  the  custom  of  making  it  the 
great  business  of  life,  to  convert  souls,  only  attend- 


AS  IT    SHOULD    BE. 


57 


ing  to  what  is  usually  called  business  just  far 
enough  to  secure  a  competent  support  when  there 
was  no  other  means  of  being  supported  within  their 
power,  has  for  nearly  1800  years — in  most  parts  of 
the  world  at  least — been  out  of  fashion. 

I  might  here  insist  that  it  would  be  for  the  spirit- 
ual not  to  say  pecuniary  interest  of  the  churches  of 
Christ,  among  us,  to  pay  their  faithful  Sabbath 
school  teachers  a  stated  compensation  or  salary  for 
their  services.  At  present,  however,  I  will  only  say, 
as  I  would  say  of  ministers,  that  though  the  laborer, 
in  both  cases,  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  yet  I  would  never 
in  either  case  be  governed  too  much  by  a  respect  to 
the  recompense  of  reward.  As  did  Paul,  so  would  I 
have  every  Sabbath  school  teacher  go  and  do  the 
work  which  divine  Providence  seems  to  assign  him, 
and  believe  that,  having  done  right,  the  reward  will 
not  fail  to  come  sooner  or  later ; — indeed  cannot  be 
prevented.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive ;  not,  it  icill  be  merely.  I  do  not  believe  a 
Christian  community  would  ever  let  a  faithful  Sab- 
bath school  teacher  suffer  among  them  for  the  com- 
mon necessaries  of  life.  In  David's  day  it  was  by 
no  means  common  to  see  the  righteous  forsaken  or 
his  seed  begging  bread  ;  neither  do  I  beheve  it 
would  be  so  now.  Let  me  but  have  the  zeal  and 
the  purity  of  Paul — I  do  not  say  his  talents — even 
though  thty  were  manifested  in  a  sphere  of  action 
as  narrow  as  that  which  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  Sab- 


58  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

bath  school  teacher,  and  I  do  not  believe  we  could 
lose  our  reward,  even  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view. 
Were  this  possible  however,  we  could  not  lose  the 
still  richer  reward,  in  the  love  which  is  promoted  by 
our  charities. 

I  have  repeatedly  said  that  it  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive  j  and  Dr.  Dwight,  in  making 
his  comment  on  this  remarkable  passage,  says  thus : 
"  Doing  good  produces  love ;  and  we  love  those  to 
whom  w^e  do  good  more  than  we  love  those  who  do 
good  to  us."  Here  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  even 
parental  love;  for  what  parent,  worthy  of  the  name, 
is  not  continually  doing  good  to  his  children,  from 
the  very  hour  of  their  birth  ?  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  the  love  of  children  to  their  parents,  is  in  part 
on  account  of  the  good  which  the  latter  have  done 
them ;  but  must  it  not  also  be  admitted  that  their 
love  is  far  less  potent  than  that  of  the  parents  1  On 
the  same  principle  is  it  that  while  the  faithful  and 
excellent  teacher — and  the  Sabbath  school  teacher 
no  less  than  any  other — is  attaching  his  pupils  to 
himself,  his  own  heart,  in  consequence  of  the  good 
he  is  doing,  is  becoming  very  closely  bound  up  in 
theirs.  Thus  is  he  blessed ;  and  should  he  succeed 
in  drawing  out  their  affections  and  directing  them 
to  Him  who  has  said.  My  son  give  me  thy  heart,  his 
reward  will  not  only  be  great  here  below,  but  it  will 
be  still  greater  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Highest. 


AS    IT   SHOULD    BE.  69 


CHAPTER   11. 

DUTIES  OF  CHURCH  MEMBERS,  IN  RELATION  TO 
SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

§  I.    THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL  A  PART  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Views  of  Mr.  Todd. — Testimony  of  the  writer. — Anecdote. — 
The  badly  selected  library. — A  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing  — 
General  remarks. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  Sabbath 
school  ought  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  part  of  the  church, 
and  under  its  supervision.  "  If  they  organize  by 
themselves,"  says  Mr.  Todd,  "  and  stand  alone,  dis- 
tinct from  the  church,  there  is  danger  lest  they  feel 
that  they  have  a  distinct  interest ;  and  lay  plans 
and  pursue  their  ends  not  only  without  consulting 
the  wishes  of  the  church,  but  without  consulting 
her  interests.  I  should  lament  most  deeply  to  see 
the  day  when  the  teachers  in  our  Sabbath  schools 
shall  be  found  acting  independently  of  the  churches 
and  in  array  against  them.  There  is  not — cannot 
be — in  nature,  any  separate  interests  in  the  two 
bodies.  But  should  the  day  come  when  the  fashion 
shall  prevail  that  Sabbath  schools  shall  be  organ- 
ized and  carried  on  as  independent  organizations, 
then  will  heart-burnings  commence.  Then  will 
many  of  the  church  withhold  their  children,  the 


60  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

church  and  the  minister  stand  aloof  or  become  sub- 
ordinate to  the  school,  the  power  of  the  church  will 
pass  into  the  school,  and  the  church  in  fact  take 
that  particular  shape.  Then  will  the  school  con- 
trol the  election  of  the  pastors  of  the  church,  and 
do  all  which  is  now  done  by  our  churches,  as  such. 
No  man  can  think  more  highly  of  the  Sabbath 
school  than  I  do.  But  wo  to  the  day  when  they  shall 
strive  to  '  lord  it  over  God's  heritage,'  and  con- 
centrate every  thing  pertaining  to  the  church  of 
Christ  in  the  Sabbath  school.  Christ  did  not  organ- 
ize his  church  in  the  shape  of  the  Sabbath  school, 
nor  can  she  ever  assume  that  shape  without  destroy- 
ing her  proportions  and  her  existence.  The  attempt 
so  to  shape  her  can  never  succeed ;  and  I  trust  it 
will  never  be  made." 

Now  in  these  views  of  Mr.  Todd  and  others  I 
most  heartily  concur.  This  duty  of  parents,  or 
rather  this  duty  of  the  church  is  the  first  duty  which 
pertains  to  this  class  of  citizens  in  relation  to  the 
Sabbath  school.  They  are  in  one  word  to  establish 
the  school.  The  teachers  ought  to  be  appointed 
directly  by  them,  and  not  in  the  loose  careless  way 
in  which  they  are  now  often  appointed.  As  for  the 
superintendent,  it  may  be  well  that  he  should  be 
elected  by  the  teachers  -,  but  not  so  with  the  teachers 
themselves.  Their  appointment  should  be  the  result 
of  almost  as  much  deliberation  and  prayer  by  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  61 

church,  as  should  the  selection  or  the  installation  of 
a  minister.  This,  it  seems  to  me,  would  make  them 
feel  that  they  are  elected  by  somebody,  have  a  trust 
committed  to  them,  and  are  accountable  for  their 
conduct,  and  in  some  measure  for  their  success. 
Moreover,  it  would  increase  he  confidence  of  the 
children  in  them,  and  thus  greatly  add  to  the  weight 
of  their  influence. 

What- is  said  of  the  danger  of  getting  bad  men 
into  the  sacred  office  of  teacher  in  the  Sabbath 
school  is  worth  attention.  I  have  seen  all  that  is 
feared  in  this  respect,  once  or  twice  realized.  I 
have  seen  a  Sabbath  school  established  in  connec- 
tion with  an  orthodox  congregation,  and  placed 
under  the  entire  control,  hbrary  and  all,  of  a  man 
who  was  of  very  different  sentiments  from  those 
which  the  parents  of  the  children  entertained ;  such 
as  in  the  view  of  every  one  would  have  excluded 
hira  from  communion  with  the  church,  if  not  from 
their  society  at  their  houses.  And  all  this  because 
the  church  did  not  take  h  Id  of  the  matter,  but  suf- 
fered the  school  to  be  got  up  as  an  independent 
organization.  I  remember  distinctly  about  the 
library.  The  superintendent  contrived  to  send  to 
a  city  book-store,  of  very  doubtful  standing  as  to  its 
religious  character,  for  the  books ;  and  to  impress 
strongly  the  belief  that  they  were  suitable  books  for 
the  Sabbath  ;  when  some  of  them  were  no  more  fit 

6 


62  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

for  Sunday  reading,  or  but  little  more  so,  than 
Robinson  Crusoe,  or  Blue  Beard,  or  Sindbad  the 
Sailor. 

There  is  at  this  moment,  in  the  very  heart  of 
one  of  our  oldest  New  England  states,  a  case  which 
will  illustrate,  in  a  manner  more  striking  still,  the 
point  on  which  I  am  now  remarking,  and  show  that 
the  fears  entertained  by  Mr.  Todd  and  others  are 
far  from  being  ill  founded. 

A  gentleman  who  had  become  highly  distin- 
guished as  an  author  and  teacher,  and  who,  being 
of  a  sanguine  temperament,  and  not  a  little  flattered 
by  his  success  both  in  the  literary  and  political 
world,  removed  from  the  capital  of  one  of  our  New 
England  states  to  a  more  retired  but  still  somewhat 
populous  region,  and  commenced  operations  on  a 
new,  but  extended  scale.  Though  still  a  politician 
of  the  most  ambitious  sort,  he  sought  popularity  or 
at  least  influence  in  quite  another  manner.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  he  was  skeptical  in 
matters  of  religion,  he  found  means  to  impress  on 
those  around  him  the  belief  that  he  was  both 
"  honest"  and  zealous  in  "  the  sacred  cause,"  and 
to  get  access  to  the  Sabbath  school.  As  he  was 
somewhat  ingenuous  in  his  manner,  not  to  say  "  apt 
to  win"  by  his  graces,  he  was  not  many  years  in 
securing  an  almost  unlimited  influence  over  the 
youthful  part  of  the  congregation  to  which  the  Sab- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  63 

bath  school  properly  belonged,  but  with  which  it 
really  had  no  connection.  The  character  of  the 
lessons  and  of  the  library  were  soon  decided  by 
him  ;  and  while  his  influence  was  increasing,  that 
of  the  minister,  a  godly  man  as  it  was  generally 
believed,  was  decreasing.  It  is  indeed  true  that  the 
minister  was  not  always  wise  in  his  management ; 
for  by  taking  for  granted,  perhaps  prematurely, 
that  the  reformer  of  Sabbath  school  instruction  was 
his  enemy,  he  actually  made  him  still  more  so,  and 
hastened  the  day  of  his  own  dismission.  For  such 
was  the  progress  of  things  that  the  minister  was 
gradually  supplanted,  in  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  the  new-comer  obtained  so  firm  a  foothold  in 
their  affections  as  to  be  a  principal  agent  in  intro- 
ducing another  minister  of  a  far  different  character 
from  the  former  ;  and  not  only  of  introducing  him, 
but  of  rendering  him  generally  acceptable.  The 
result  is,  as  I  have  been  recently  informed,  that  the 
former  evanfjelical  character  of  the  church  no  less 
than  of  the  congregation  is  fast  disappearing ;  and 
a  new  and  more  latitudinarian  character  taking  its 
place.  And  all  this  mighty  change  in  a  population 
highly  fixed  in  its  character  has  been  accomplished 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  by  one  crafty,  insinu- 
ating, persevering  individual. 

Here,  then,  I  say,  is  a  specimen  of  what  may  be 
done  by  an  ambitious,  designing  man.     Whether 


64  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

this  is  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  which  ever  oc- 
curred in  New  England  or  not,  it  should  serve  as  a 
warning  to  all  against  the  premature  introduction 
of  strangers  to  places  of  so  much  influence  and  trust 
as  the  Sabbath  school ;  and  should,  above  all, 
remind  the  church  of  the  importance  and  the  neces- 
sity of  taking  this  matter  entirely  into  her  own  hands. 
How  dare  Christian  churches  commit  the  tender 
lambs  of  the  flock  to — she  knows  not  whom — per- 
haps to  the  wolf  in  sheep's  clothing  ?  Peter  was 
commissioned  to  feed  the  lambs  of  the  flock — never 
Judas — never  strangers.  He  who  knew  all  things 
knew  better  than  to  commit  them  to  any  other — as 
Christian  instructors  out  of  the  family — than  to  one 
of  those  who  had  been  so  long  with  him,  and  who 
were  most  thoroughly  imbued  with  his  own  spirit. 

The  anecdote  I  gave  about  a  badly  selected 
library  leads  me  to  remark  in  this  place,  that  one 
duty  of  the  church  is  to  establish  and  control  the 
library  ;  but  of  this  I  shall  treat  in  a  separate  chap- 
ter. All  I  shall  insist  upon  at  present  is  that  the 
church  should  in  every  thing  keep  the  management 
of  the  school  and  allits  concerns  in- their  own  hands. 

Perhaps,  however,  in  treating  of  the  duties  of  the 
church,  in  relation  to  the  Sabbath  school,  I  ought 
to  begin  at  the  beginning.  It  belongs  to  the  church 
in  regular  meeting,  to  say  whether  or  not  they  will 
have  a  Sabbath  school.     If  a  Sabbath  school  is  de- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  65 

cided  on,  it  then  belongs  to  the  church  to  decide  on 
the  number  and  quaUfications  of  the  teachers,  the 
kind  and  course  of  studies  to  be  pursued,  the  books, 
maps,  apparatus,  etc.,  to  be  used.  It  is  for  the  church 
to  say  whether  question  books  shall  or  shall  not  be 
used  ;  whether  collateral  instruction  in  the  natural 
sciences  shall  be  given,  and  if  given,  to  what  ex- 
tent. It  is  for  them  to  direct  about  the  time,  place 
and  length  of  the  school,  with  all  things  pertaining 
to  its  organization  and  general  management ;  and  I 
think  it  w^ould  even  be  well  for  them  to  exercise 
some  control  in  regard  to  its  classification.  It  is  in- 
deed true  that  a  parent  can  withhold  his  children 
from  the  Sabbath  school  if  he  pleases,  either  be- 
cause he  dislikes  the  teacher  or  the  associates  of  his 
children.  And  yet,  w^ould  it  not  be  better  for  him 
to  have  a  voice  in  deciding  who  should  be  the  teacher 
and  who  the  companions  of  our  children,  than  to  leave 
it  to  others,  and  then  be  subjected  to  the  painful  ne- 
cessity either  of  suffering  them  to  remain  where  we  do 
not  wish  them  to  remain,  or  of  withdrawing  them  ? 

§  II.    PARTICULAR    DUTY    OF    PARENTS     IN    RELATION    TO 
SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

Seasonable  attendance  of  children. — Studying  the  lessons  with 
their  children — Frequent  parental  neglect. — Example  of 
faithful  parental  duty  — Reflections. — Whole  churches  are 
sometimes  resolved  into  Sabbath  schools. 

When  however  the  Sabbath  school  becomes  duly 

organized,  and  a  parent  has  concluded  to  send  his 

6* 


66 


THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 


children,  let  him  at  once  make  up  his  mind  to  send 
them  seasonably  and  regularly.  Let  them  not  only 
be  seasonable,  but  properly  prepared.  If  parents  care 
enough  about  Sabbath  schools  to  send  their  children 
to  them  at  all,  they  ought  to  care  enough  about  them 
to  see  that  they  are  in  every  respect  well  prepared. 
Half  the  parents,  in  some  portions  of  our  community, 
hardly  know,  from  one  week's  end  to  another,  what 
lessons  are  assigned  their  children,  either  at  the  day 
school  or  the  Sabbath  school,  or  whether  any.  Such 
neglect  is  unpardonable,  especially  in  the  case  of  the 
Sabbath  school. 

There  is  hardly  a  parent  to  be  found  among  us 
who  would  not  be  as  much  benefitted  by  a  thorough 
knowledo;e  of  the  lessons  assio;ned  to  his  children  as 
the  children  themselves.  "Why  not  then  take  hold 
of  each  lesson,  during  the  week,  along  with  his 
children,  and  make  it  his  principal  family  Bible  les- 
son ?  Most  Christian  parents  acknowledge  it  to 
be  their  duty  to  read  the  Bible,  and  even  to  study  it, 
daily ;  why  not  then  read  and  study  the  part  of  it 
which  is  assigned  to  their  children,  as  well  as  any 
other '? 

But  what  shall  we  say  to  those  parents  who  not 
only  neglect  their  children's  lessons,  and  in  spite  of 
all  their  professed  regard  for  the  Sabbath  school, 
practically  show  that  they  do  not  value  it  at  all,  but 
evtn  seem  to  regard  it  as  a  piece  of  drudgery,  both 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  67 

to  themselves  and  their  children  ?  Yet  some  sjch 
parents  may  be  found  among  us,  and  I  wish  I  could 
say  they  are  not  numerous.  If  a  child  comes  to  them 
with  a  book  or  with  a  question,  they  are  repulsed 
with  an  "  I  can't  be  troubled  with  you ;"  or  with 
something  still  more  cold  and  discouraging. 

Now  I  maintain  it  to  be  the  duty  of  every  parent, 
even  if  he  does  not  study  the  lesson  along  with  his 
children,  to  take  an  interest  in  it ;  for  in  fact,  unless 
this  is  done,  it  is  to  little  purpose  that  the  children 
are  connected  with  the  school.  They  may  indeed 
repeat  the  words  of  the  lesson,  and  repeat  them  cor- 
rectly too,  but  their  hearts  will  be  as  cold  if  not  quite 
as  hard,  all  the  time,  as  the  rocks  of  the  soil  they 
tread  on ;  and  the  teacher  will  wonder,  and  the  su- 
perintendent will  wonder,  and  perhaps  the  minister 
will  join  in  their  amazement,  that  the  feelings  of  the 
children  are  so  little  affected  while  so  much  is  done 
for  them.  But  their  w-onder  might  cease,  could  they 
look  into  the  family  circle,  and  see  the  parental  in- 
difference to  the  Sabbath  school  which  pervades  it. 
I  like  much  better  the  spirit  exhibited  in  the  fol- 
lowing narrative,  said  to  be  true,  though  I  do  not 
know  on  what  puthority.  It  is  found  in  Todd's 
"  Sabbath  School  Teacher,"  but  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  original  there. 

"  It  was  Saturday  evening  when  I  arrived  at  the 
house  of  my  friend,  in  a  retired  village  of  Massachu- 


68  THE    SABBATH  SCHOOL 

setts.  The  family  had  just  risen  from  the  table,  and 
the  little  ones  were  retiring  to  rest,  when  one  of  the 
elder  children  requested  the  mother's  permission  to 
attend  the  teachers'  meeting  that  evening. 

"  '  The  rain  will  prevent  a  meeting  to-night,'  re- 
plied her  mother ;  '  but  w^e  wdll  not  be  denied  the 
privilege  of  studying  the  lesson.' — Accordingly  the 
table  was  soon  covered  with  books,  and  surrounded 
by  the  happy  family. 

" '  This  is  our  usual  custom,'  said  the  mother, 
'  when  the  weather  deprives  us  of  the  assistance  of 
our  minister,  whose  kind  instructions  have  for  many 
years  greatly  assisted  the  teachers  in  their  benevo- 
lent work.' 

"  I  declined  an  invitation  to  join  the  interesting 
circle,  but  was  a  highly  gratified  spectator.  Here 
were  the  father  and  mother,  with  their  lovely  chil- 
dren, together  with  a  modest  young  w^oman  residing  in 
the  family,  with  their  Bibles  open.  Each  was  ques- 
tioned, in  turn  ;  references  were  found  and  impres- 
sively read ;  maps  consulted  ;  and  the  Bible  Diction- 
ary often  referred  to.  The  intelligent  and  unre- 
strained questions  of  the  children,  clearly  manifested 
that  it  was  no  new  employment.  The  Bible  seemed 
to  them  not  only  a  familar  but  a  beloved '  book. 
While  looking  at  this  animated  scene,  my  mind  un- 
consciously glanced  back  over  a  period  of  sixteen 
years  which  I  have  been  permitted  to  spend  as  a 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  69 

Sabbath  school  teacher,  and  I  could  not  but  reflect : 
Oh  had  I  been  thus  aided  by  Christian  parents, 
cheerful  and  effectual  had  been  my  labors,  where 
now  I  fear  they  were  lost. 

"  After  the  lesson  was  concluded,  family  prayer 
offered,  and  the  children  had  retired,  the  following 
conversation  took  place. 

"  '  I  am  delighted  to  find  that  your  children  en- 
gage with  so  much  pleasure  in  studying  the  Bible. 
How  have  you  managed  to  make  it  so  agreeable  V 

"  '  We  have  never  found  any  difficulty  in  making 
the  word  of  God  a  pleasant  study.  In  the  first  place 
my  little  children  are  taught  many  of  its  stories  be- 
fore they  can  read.  And  as  soon  as  they  become 
Sabbath  scholars,  we  make  it  a  point  to  study  the 
lesson  with  them.  I  believe  they  were  never  sent 
away  to  get  it  by  themselves;  this  would  seem  too 
much  like  a  task.  Either  one  or  both  of  us  always 
take  the  lesson,  and  show  them  that  we  cannot  be 
denied  the  privilege.  We  ask,  and  in  our  turn, 
answer  the  questions,  talk  over  the  scene,  imagine 
ourselves  in  the  very  spot,  and  endeavor,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  interest  and  impress  our  young  scholars. 
This  is  done  on  Saturday  evening  or  Sabbath  morn- 
ing. But  there  is  another  method  adopted  by  their 
mother  which  I  think  still  better.  Every  morning, 
during  the  week,  after  family  prayer  and  breakfast, 
the  children  have  always  been  accustomed  to  read, 


70  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

with  her,  a  chapter  which  is  talked  over  in  the  same 
way.  Questions  are  continually  arising,  while  it  is 
read,  and  thus  the  habit  is  formed  of  daily  reading 
the  word  of  God  with  jyleasure  and  attention.'' 

"  '  Your  method  is  certainly  a  very  simple  one, 
and  how  easily  might  every  Christian  parent  adopt 
it?' 

"  '  Yes,  for  although  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  can 
take  of  the  things  of  God  and  show  them  to  our  dear 
children,  yet  I  am  confident  parents  can  do  much  to 
render  this  blessed  volume  a  precious  book  to  their 
children.  If  with  a  countenance  beaming  with  plea- 
sure they  would  say.  Come  let  us  read  it  together,  my 
children,  instead  of  assigning  it  as  a  daily  task  to  be 
run  over  alone,  the  time  might  not  be  distant  when  it 
would  be  to  both  better  than  gold,  even  fine  gold, 
sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honey-comb ;  and  I  think 
it  would  essentially  aid  you  who  are  Sabbath  school 
teachers,  for  I  know  you  must  have  your  trials  as 
well  as  your  pleasures,  and  many  of  the  tiials  must 
arise  from  the  negligence  of  parents.  God  forbid 
that  such  negligence  be  laid  to  Christian  parents ; 
and  yet  is  it  not  a  sad  truth  that  the  children  of  many 
of  them  have  not  learned  to  esteern  this  holy  book 
as  their  necessary  food  V  " 

Let  me  appeal  to  every  one  who  reads  this  nar- 
rative, and  inquire  why  it  is  that  so  many  of  them 
leave  the  explanation  of  the  Sabbath  school  lesson, 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  71 

wholly  to  the  teacher,  or  to  him  and  the  minister, 
when  they  ought  to  become  scholars  themselves  and 
study  it  with  their  children.  Let  me  prevail  with 
them  to  make  a  trial,  for  three  months,  of  a  course 
not  unlike  that  which  is  indicated  by  the  foregoing 
dialogue,  and  see  if  they  do  not  find  it  exceedingly 
profitable  to  themselves  as  well  as  to  their  children. 

But  parents  have  a  great  deal  to  do  besides  aid- 
ing their  children  in  getting  their  lessons  or  studying 
with  them,  and  seeing  that  they  are  regular  and 
punctual  in  their  attendance.  Every  church  member, 
says  Mr.  Todd,  should,  if  possible,  "  have  something 
to  do  with  the  Sabbath  school,  either  as  a  teacher  or 
scholar ;"  and  I  accord  with  this  view  entirely. 

He  says,  also,  that  "  if  the  church  were  to  do 
her  duty,  almost  all  the  congregation  would  be  con- 
nected with  the  Sabbath  school  in  some  relation  or 
other.  In  some  of  our  congregations  this  is  already 
the  case.  I  could  mention  several  village  congre- 
gations in  New  England,  in  which  the  Sabbath  school 
numbers  between  five  and  six  hundred,  or  nearly  all 
of  the  congregation.  These  are  the  most  interesting 
schools  I  have  ever  seen.  I  have  seen  a  class  of  old 
ladies — probably  all  over  fifty  years  of  age — who  sat 
down  to  the  recitation  with  as  much  interest  as  any 
class  of  children  could.  I  do  not  say  that  all,  with- 
out exception,  can  do  so.  Mothers  with  young 
children  cannot,   and  fathers  sometimes  cannot  be 


72  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

connected  with  the  Sabbath  school.     But  these  are 
but  exceptions  to  the  rule." 

I  have  also  been  acquainted  with  one  or  two  of 
these  Sabbath  schools.  The  most  interesting  of 
these,  was  that  of  the  North  Church  in  Hartford, 
nine  or  ten  years  ago.  Here  the  whole  church  re- 
solved itself,  for  a  time,  into  a  Sabbath  school.  The 
arrangement,  however,  did  not  become  permanent. 
The  middle  aged  and  the  old  were  not  enough  im- 
bued with  the  love  of  improvement  to  persjvere  in 
such  a  good  work ;  nor  are  there  many  whole  con- 
gregations to  be  found  who  are.  Nor  was  this  all. 
There  were  two  regular  church  exercises  besides  the 
sessi(3n  of  the  Sabbath  school ;  and  I  feel  confident 
that  every  arrangement  which  involves  so  much  of 
the  time  of  adults  on  the  Sabbath,  will  forever  be 
abortive.  Children  may  be  kept  at  their  taskwork, 
because  compelled.  And  yet  the  very  parents  and 
masters  who  thus  compel  them  to  grind  as  it  were 
in  their  prison,  would  not,  themse  ves,  yield  obedi- 
ence to  a  rule  which  is  so  obviously  unjust. 

If  the  church  and  congregation  are  to  be  resolv- 
ed into  a  Sabbath  school,  let  the  plan  be  adopted  to 
which  I  shall  allude  more  particularly  elsewhere — 
that  of  having  but  one  regular  church  exercise  a  day, 
say  in  the  afternoon,  and  hav  ng  the  forenoon  de- 
voted to  the  Sabbath  school  —  and  let  the  rest  of  the 
day  be  sacred  to  divine  worship  in  the  family.  This 


AS    IT   SHOULD    BE.  73 

plan  I  think  will  be  the  final  resort  of  our  churches, 
but  not  perhaps  till  after  several  centuries  have  been 
passed  over. 

Still,  as  things  now  are,  I  believe  it  to  be  the 
duty  of  most  parents,  either  to  connect  themselves 
very  closely  with  the  Sabbath  school,  or  wholly  to 
give  it  up.  They  should  assist  their  children  in 
studying  the  lessons,  or  rather  they  should  study  with 
them  ;  they  should  assist  them,  if  any  assistance  is 
needed,  in  getting  to  the  school  in  good  season,  and 
in  good  condition  ;  they  should,  in  greater  or  less 
numbers,  be  the  teachers  of  their  children  while  there; 
and  lastly,  they  should  be  present  during  the  exer- 
cises, both  to  observe  the  school  and  to  select  books 
for  their  children  from  the  library.  I  shall  say 
more  of  the  library,  however,  in  another  chapter. 

§  in.    FAMn-Y  CONVERSATION. 

Genernl  rule  on  this  subjccL— Things  as  ihev  are  among  us. 
—Conversation  at  the  breakfast  table.— At  dinner  and 
elsewhere. — Anecdote  of  the  Icelanders. 

Parents  should  also  remember  the  Sabbath  school 
in  their  daily  conversation.  "  Where  your  treasure* 
is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also,"  is  a  declaration  of 
very  high  authority  ;  or,  in  common  language,  what 
we  take  an  interest  in,  or  value,  that  we  think  about 
and  talk  about.  And  the  contrary  of  this  rule  is 
true.     What  we  neither  think  about  nor  talk  about. 

7 


74  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

is  seldom  valued,  or  where  our  treasure  is  not,  there 
our  hearts  will  not  be. 

But  what  are  we  to  think,  judging  by  this  rule, 
of  those  parents  and  masters  among  us,  who  neA'er 
say  a  word  to  their  children  about  the  Sabbath 
school  or  its  lessons,  from  one  week's  end  to  an- 
other— and  but  seldom  from  one  year's  end  to  ano- 
ther ?  That  they  set  any  value  upon  it  ?  What 
do  the  children  of  such  families  think  1  They  may 
not  always  put  their  thoughts  into  words,  nor  in- 
deed be  conscious  that  such  thoughts  are  really  in 
their  mind  ;  yet  I  honestly  believe  they  make  the  just, 
no  less  than  natural  inference,  that  all  our  pretensions 
to  regard  for  the  Sabbath  school  are  hollow. 

We  talk  about  dogs  and  horses,  and  houses  and 
lands,  and  stocks  and  interest,  and  purchases  and 
sales,  and  balls  and  exhibitions,  and  elections  and 
salaries,  and  births  and  marriages,  and  eating  and 
drinking ;  and  our  tones  of  voice,  as  well  as  our 
looks,  prove  that  we  are  interested  in  these  things. 
They  prove  that  w^e  consider  them  as  things  of  real 
value,  and  that  it  is  out  of  the  abundance  of  our 
hearts  that  our  mouths  speak.  And  children 
do  not  misunderstand  us.  They  know  where  our 
hearts  are  ;  and  though  we  may  say  we  value  the 
Sabbath  school,  they  have  no  such  evidence  that  it 
is  so,  as  they  have  that  we  love  money,  office,  plea- 
sure, etc. ;  and  especially  eating  and  drinking. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  75 

Even  if  we  talk  about  the  Sabbath  school,  it  is, 
as  it  were,  by  constraint.  The  conversation  is  in- 
troduced by  accident,  or  by  somebody  who  wishes 
to  press  it,  for  the  moment,  upon  our  notice ;  usually 
by  one  of  our  honest  and  plain-hearted  young  folks. 
We  who  are  parents  rarely  introduce  the  conversa- 
tion. 

Watch  a  modern  breakfast  or  dinner-table.  The 
tea-table  I  leave  out  of  question,  as  I  fear  the  sub- 
ject of  Sabbath  schools  would  be  absolutely  rejected 
there,  as  being  too  grave  a  matter.  Let  us  watch 
the  conversation,  I  say,  at  the  breakfast-table.  Nay, 
I  care  not,  if  it  is  the  first  breakfast  of  the  week. 
What  shall  we  hear  1  Any  thing  about  the  Sabbath 
school  ?  How  seldom  !  How  much  more  frequently 
is  this  precious  season  for  familiar,  improving  con- 
versation, trifled  away  by  small  talk — the  weather, 
the  choice  of  dishes,  the  dress  to  be  worn,  the  car- 
riages or  horses  to  be  used,  who  is  to  be  the  preacher 
for  the  day ;  and  a  thousand  other  things  of  about  equal 
importance,  and  equal  adaptation  to  the  occasion. 

And  is  the  conversation  any  more  improving 
even  at  dinner,  when  the  Sabbath  school  is  to  fol- 
low immediately  ?  Who  says  any  thing  about  the 
Sabbath  school,  even  then  ?  Who  does  dot  choose 
rather  to  talk  about  the  appearance  of  such  or  such 
an  individual,  or  such  a  couple  ;  or  the  beauty  of  the 
sermon ;  or  the  excellency  of  the  singing ;  or  the 


76  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

defective  utterance  of  the  speaker ;  or  the  want  of 
accordance  of  his  sentiments  with  those  in  which  we 
ourselves  have  been  brought  up  1 

Until  parents  manifest  the  same  interest — to  say 
the  least  of  it — in  the  Sabbath  school,  which  they 
do  in  other  things,  it  is  in  vain  for  them  to  talk  about 
their  friendship  for  it ;  and  almost  equally  useless 
for  them  to  send  their  children  there.  They  will 
continue  to  be  late,  at  times,  and  to  be  indifferent 
when  they  arrive.  They  will  continue  to  think 
more  of  something  else,  even  while  reciting,  than  of 
the  meaning  of  their  lessons.  They  will  continue  to 
be  uninterested  in  prayer  time  ;  and  even  to  laugh 
and  play,  in  too  many  instances,  if  they  can  get  a 
chance  ;  or  at  least  to  twist  into  all  sorts  of  shapes. 
How  can  they  care  for  that  which  they  are  not  taught 
to  care  for ;  which  nobody  around  them  appears  to  care 
for,  except  one  hour  in  the  week ;  and  in  which  they 
see  no  form  or  beauty,  that  they  should  care  for  it. 

It  is  said  by  Dr.  Henderson,  a  highly  respectable 
writer  on  Iceland,  and  who  has  himself  been  a  trav- 
eller there,  that  by  the  laws  of  that  island,  the 
parents,  at  least  in  some  cases,  are  held  responsible 
for  the  conduct  of  their  children,  and  are  actually 
punished  for  their  faults  and  crimes.  If  all  parents 
among  us  were  to  be  sentenced  and  punished  for  all 
the  faults  and  follies  and  delinquencies  of  Sabbath 
school  pupils,  is  there  not  reason  to  fear  that  punish- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  77 

ments  would  be  rather  more  frequent  among  us  than 
they  now  are  ? 

And  why  should  not  parents  he  thus  punished  ? 
If  it  is  the  ordinance  of  Jehovah  that  the  soul  that 
sinneth  it  shall  die  ;  that  the  son  shall  not  bear  the 
iniquity  of  the  father,  neither  the  father  the  iniquity 
of  the  son,  then  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than 
that  the  stupidity,  the  indifference,  the  roguery  even, 
of  the  Sabbath  school  pupil,  is  attributable,  in  no 
small  degree,  to  the  neglect  of  the  parent,  and  that 
the  son  should  not,  in  such  case,  bear  the  iniquity  of 
the  father,  but  that  the  soul  that  sinneth  ouo-ht  to 

o 

suffer  the  punishment. 

It  may  be  doubted,  however,  the  example  of 
Iceland  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  whether 
human  courts  are  yet  wise  enough  to  act  accordino- 
to  this  wise  ordinance  of  Jehovah.  At  the  last  tri- 
bunal, strict  justice  will  be  dealt  out ;  but  in  the  ex- 
isting imperfection  of  human  governments  and  hu- 
man tribunals,  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  the  in- 
iquities of  parents  will  be  visited,  very  often,  upon 
the  children,  and  that  the  father  will  suffer  many  a 
punishment  which  ought  to  be  elsewhere  inflicted. 

§  rv.    PRAYER    FOR    SABBATH    SCHOOLS. 

Neglect  of  prayer  lor  Sabbath  schools.— A    contradiction 
among  Chrisiians. 

We  have  another  striking  evidence  that  people, 

almost  everywhere,  are  hollow-hearted,  in  regard  to 

7* 


/O  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

Sabbath  schools.  When  and  where  do  Christian 
parents,  in  their  family  worship,  intercede  for  the 
Sabbath  school  ?  Is  such  a  tiling  often  known  ? 
In  the  great  congregation  of  the  church,  the  minis- 
ter, it  is  true,  sometimes  remembers  the  Sabbath 
school,  and  the  Sabbath  school  pupil  may  chance 
to  observe  it ;  but  he  seldom  if  ever  hears  prayer  for 
the  Sabbath  school  anywhere  else.  And  he  makes 
the  natural  and  just  inference. 

When,  Oh  when,  will  the  practice  of  mankind, 
not  merely  in  relation  to  the  Sabbath  school,  but 
almost  every  thing  else,  cease  to  contradict  their 
pretensions  and  professions  ?  For  though  there  is 
undoubtedly  far  more  of  stern  unyielding  truth,  and 
far  more  of  open  honesty  and  fair  dealing  in  the 
Christian  w'orld  than  elsewhere,  yet  when  w^e  consi- 
der the  purity  of  God's  law,  there  is  by  no  means  as 
much  as  there  should  be.  W^e  too  frequently  pro- 
fess to  be  one  thing,  and  yet  in  our  practice  are  quite 
another.  We  profess  before  our  children,  as  well  as 
the  rest  of  the  w'orld,  to  lightly  esteem  this  world 
and  to  set  a  high  value  on  the  next ;  and  yet  we 
pursue  a  course  which  would  lead  the  unsophistica- 
ted mind  to  suppose  exactly  the  contrary.  This 
ought  not  so  to  be,  most  certainly.  Let  us  be  what 
we  may,  we  should  seem  to  be  exactly  what  we  are. 
There  should  be  no  double  dealing  ;  no  hypocrisy  ; 
no  giving  the  lie  to  our  profession. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  79 

§  V.    FAMILIAR  INTERCOURSE  WITH  TEACHERS. 

Givingthetna  heartywelcome.— Receiving  their  visits. —Duty 
of  parents  to  become  teachers.- Particular  duly  of  those 
who  have  once  been  teachers  of  week-day  schools. 

While  it  is  most  undoubtedly  the  duty  of  Sab- 
bath school  teachers  to  visit  their  pupils  at  their 
homes  respectively,  it  is  equally  the  duty  of  parents 
to  take  care  to  give  them  a  hearty  welcome.  There 
is  as  wide  a  difference  between  receiving  a  teacher 
into  the  family  in  the  true  gospel  spirit,  and  the  con- 
trary and  more  prevalent  mode,  as  can  well  be  ima- 
gined. 

I  have  visited  famihes  who  received  me  with  all 
the  cordiality  of  an  intimate  and  highly  valued  friend, 
and  gave  me  every  opportunity  for  seeing  and  con- 
versing with  their  children.  But  I  have  also  visited 
other  families  where  I  was  kept  at  a  distance ;  and 
although  I  was  not  required  to  go  below  or  into  the 
kitchen  to  converse  with  them,  yet  it  was  easy  to 
perceive  that  I  was  not  recognized  as  an  equal — 
hardly  as  a  friend.  In  short,  it  was  easy  to  perceive 
that  the  friendly  fellow-feeling  which  ought  to  ex- 
ist between  the  parent  and  the  teacher  of  his  chil- 
dren was  wholly  wanting,  and  which  among  Chris- 
tians is  certainly  to  be  regretted.  Paul  says  express- 
ly that  none  of  these  outward  distinctions  ouo-ht  to 
exist,  in  the  Christian  world  generally,  for  the  sim- 
ple reason  that  "  we  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 
But  let  others  do  as  they  may,  the  Sabbath  school 


80  THE  SABBATH    SCHOOL 

teacher  should  recognize  no  difference  in  rank  among 
his  pupils.  He  will  look  upon  them  as  immortal 
beings,  travelling  on  together  to  a  world  where  the 
only  distinction  is  that  which  is  founded  on  moral 
excellence. 

Here  may  be  the  proper  place  for  urging  it  on 
parents  to  exercise  the  self-denial  of  becoming  Sab- 
bath school  teachers.  Not  all  parents,  of  course,  for 
all  would  not  be  wanted,  at  least  in  the  mere  work 
of  teaching.  The  selection,  however,  should  be 
made  from  parents,  of  such  as  it  is  thought  will  be 
most  able  and  efficient.  The  rest  should  be,  as  far 
as  it  is  practicable,  observing  for  themselves  the  pro- 
gress of  things,  and  when  the  proper  time  comes, 
selecting  the  books  for  their  children  from  the  li- 
brary. 

I  think,  at  all  events,  that  every  parent  who  has 
the  true  spirit  of  the  gospel,  will  be  ready  to  aid  in 
the  Sabbath  school,  if  he  is  needed  ;  except  in  those 
particular  circumstances  of  sickness,  &c.,  which 
ought  always  to  be  a  sufficient  excuse.  But  if  pa- 
rents were  thus  ready  and  anxious  to  teach  or  other- 
wise assist  in  our  Sabbath  schools ;  if  instead  of  a 
dearth  of  teachers,  and  a  difficulty,  almost  every- 
where, of  finding  a  sufficient  number  willing  to  make 
a  little  self-denial  for  the  general  good,  the  inquiry 
were  continually  being  made,  on  our  right  hand  and 
on  our  left,  Can  I  be  of  any  service  in  the  Sabbath 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  81 

school  ?  how  greatly  would  it  alter  the  whole  ex- 
isting state  of  things  !  But  this  readiness  and  anx- 
iety on  the  part  of  parents  to  sustain  the  Sabbath 
school,  ought  to  exist,  and  must  be  seen  to  exist,  be- 
fore the  rising  generation  can  be  fully  trained  in  the 
way  they  should  go. 

Especially  should  those  parents — and  of  such 
there  are  always  some  among  us — who  have  been 
teachers  in  early  life  in  week-day  schools,  come 
forward  with  cheerfulness  and  courage  to  the  duty 
of  Sabbath  school  teachers.  I  can  hardly  refrain 
from  pitying  the  stupidity  of  parents  of  this  descrip- 
tion who  will  not  put  their  hands  to  the  work.  Do 
they  have  right  views  of  their  own  responsibility  1 
Do  they  know  one  of  the  first  great  principles  of  the 
gospel,  that  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  the  same 
will  much  be  required  1 


CHAPTER    III 


ORGANIZATION  AND  CONDUCT   OF   SABBATH 
SCHOOLS. 

§  1.    PRELIMINARY    REMARKS. 

We  have  seen,  in  a  former  chapter,  that  God 
has  been  the  author  and  establisher  of  two  institu- 
tions in  the  world,  the  family  and  the  church — and 


82  THE    SAEBATH    SCHOOL 

that  most  or  all  other  institutions  are  of  human  and 
not  divine  appointment. 

But  we  have  seen  that  the  Sabbath  school,  though 
a  human  institution  and  not  of  divine  appointment, 
may  yet  be  made  the  dispenser  of  many  blessings 
to  mankind.  It  may  aid  the  family,  or  those  rather 
who  stand  at  the  head  of  the  family,  in  their  labors. 
It  may  aid  the  minister  in  the  discharge  of  his  so- 
lemn and  sacred  duties.  It  is  useful  in  order  to  fur- 
nish the  pupil  with  a  vast  amount  of  collateral  in- 
formation, and  especially  by  giving  him  a  knowledge 
of  natural  law.  It  is  valuable  for  its  tendency, 
rightly  managed,  to  elicit  thought  and  inquiry. 
And  finally,  and  above  all,  it  is  valuable  as  a  means, 
under  God,  of  the  early  conversion  and  sanctification 
of  children,  and  the  sanctification,  if  not  the  conver- 
sion of  teachers.  To  this  last  special  end  should  all  our 
efforts  be  directed,  whether  in  one  form  or  another. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the 
best  methods  of  organizing  and  conducting  Sabbath 
schools,  in  order  to  render  them  prosperous  and  useful. 

§  n.    OPENING    THE    SCHOOL. 

The  Sabbath  school  should  undoubtedly  be  open- 
ed with  prayer,  and  that  chiefly  by  the  superinten- 
dent or  by  some  one  of  the  teachers,  who  knows  the 
precise  character  of  the  school.  Strangers  may  in- 
deed sometimes  be  invited  to  the  discharge  of  this 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  83 

duty,  but  I  would  not  have  the  invitation  often  ex- 
tended to  them.  After  the  prayer,  a  hymn  may  be 
sung.  Let  the  lesson  come  next;  and  after  this  and 
a  few  remarks  if  needful  by  the  superintendent,  let 
a  single  verse  be  sung,  the  books  of  the  library  in 
the  mean  time  having  been  distributed,  and  the 
school  closed.  The  time  spent  in  the  Sabbath  school 
at  a  single  session  should  hardly  exceed  one  hour. 
1  would  have  no  long  speeches  or  addresses,  nor  any 
exhibition  or  display. 

§  III.    LENGTH    OF    EXERCISES. 

The  exercises  should  all  be  short — the  prayer 
and  the  singing  especially.  This  is  one  reason  why 
I  would  not  have  strangers  permitted  to  have  any 
control  over  the  school  as  to  time.  A  prayer  of  fif- 
teen minutes,  when  the  superintendent  is  accustomed 
to  pray  but  five,  deranges  the  order  of  the  school, 
and  causes  more  evil,  as  it  seems  to  me,  than  good. 
If  there  were  ten  minutes  to  spare  for  prayer,  I  would 
prefer  half  of  it  at  the  close  of  the  school  rather  than 
the  whole  at  the  beginnino; — and  the  same  remark  I 
would  apply  to  the  singing.  I  would  not,  however, 
take  up  in  any  instance  more  than  fifteen  minutes 
of  the  hour  devoted  to  the  school,  in  prayer,  singing 
and  remarks ;  for  I  consider  three-fourths  of  an  hour 
the  smallest  amount  of  time  which  it  is  necessary  to 
expend  on  the  lesson,  and  in  such  conversation  gen- 


84  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

eral  and  particular  as  might  naturally  grow  out 
of  it. 

This  season,  however,  of  three-fourths  of  an  hour, 
I  might  sometimes  divide  in  order  to  give  the  school 
a  short  recess ;  during  which,  I  would  not  have  the 
pupils  leave  their  seats.  In  this  matter  of  having  a 
recess,  where  the  whole  exercises  continue  but  an 
hour,  I  would  indeed  be  governed  by  circumstances, 
and  by  observations  of  the  results.  In  general  it 
may  not  be  necessary ;  but  that  it  sometimes  is  so, 
especially  in  the  case  of  particular  classes,  is  un- 
questionable. 

§  IV.    VARIETY   IN   THE   EXERCISES. 

This  I  deem  exceedingly  indispensable.  The 
custom  with  many  teachers  and  superintendents,  of 
pursuing  a  course  or  series  of  lessons  which  admits 
of  little  variety,  and  overlooks  wholly  the  fondness 
in  the  human  mind  for  novelty,  is  as  it  seems  to  me 
exceedingly  to  be  regretted.  The  love  of  variety 
and  fondness  for  novelty,  in  the  young  mind,  is  im- 
planted as  I  have  no  doubt  by  the  Creator  for  wise 
purposes,  and  if  duly  regarded  like  all  of  his  institu- 
tions and  laws  would  lead  to  happy  results.  Why 
then,  should  it  be  banished  from  the  Sabbath  school  ? 
Shall  we  give  up  to  Satan  every  thing  valuable,  be- 
cause all  valuable  things  are  at  times  abused  or  per- 
verted 7 


AS   IT   SHOULD   BE.  85 

This  may  serve  to  show  one  reason  why  I  object 
to  question  books,  especially  in  the  way  they  are 
most  commonly  used.  They  are  valuable,  1  admit, 
for  teachers,  in  learning  how  to  study  the  Bible  and 
how  to  explain  it  to  the  youthful  mind ;  at  least 
they  may  afford  some  aid.  And  yet  I  doubt  their 
utility,  except  on  particular  occasions,  in  the  Sabbath 
school.  There  is  certainly  a  more  excellent  way. 
Children  are  quite  apt  enough  to  study  their  lessons 
mechanically,  when  we  do  the  best  we  can  to  pre- 
vent it;  but  this  having  written  or  printed  questions, 
whether  in  the  day  school  or  Sabbath  school,  but 
above  all  in  the  latter,  and  whether  the  answers  are 
directly  appended  to  the  questions  or  not,  I  have  al- 
ways disliked,  and  I  long  to  see  our  Sabbath  school 
teachers  able  and  willing  to  pursue  a  better  and 
more  rational  course.*  God  may  add  his  blessing — 
and  does  add  it — to  the  labors  of  faithful  parents  and 
teachers,  though  some  of  their  methods  may  be 
wrong ;  but  he  blesses  them  still  more,  when  they 
are  right.f 

But  whether  we  use  books  or  not  in  our  classes, 
it  is  in  vain,  wholly  so,  to  prescirbe  for  ourselves  a 
course  of  lessons,  however  excellent,  without  refer- 
ence either  to  the  capacities  or  the  inclinations  of  our 


*  Some,  I  think,  are  prepared  for  this  more  excellent  waj', 
but  their  number  is,  as  yet,  very  few. 

t  The  subject  of  question  books  in  the  Sabbath  school  will 
be  discussed  more  fully  in  the  fourth  chapter. 

8 


86  THE  SABBATH    SCHOOL 

pupils.  Children,  it  should  never  be  forgotten,  are 
at  best  unskilful,  as  an  apostle  expresses  it,  in  right- 
eousness ;  and  cannot  endure  strong  food,  even  that 
which  to  us  may  seem  exceedingly  nourishing  and 
wholesome.  What,  think  you,  would  become  of  the 
tender  babe  of  three  months  old,  were  we  to  insist 
on  its  eating  solid  bread  or  beefsteak  ?  Would  he 
eat  it  ?  Or  could  he  eat  it  1  W^ould  he  have  teeth 
to  masticate,  or  a  stomach  which  could  digest  it  1 
And  suppose  he  had  teeth,  and  digestive  powers 
strong  enough,  would  he  relish  it  ?  Would  it  not 
be  disgusting  to  him  ?  But  you  may  as  well  expect 
the  babe  of  three  months  to  relish  and  digest  bread 
and  meat,  as  the  children  of  our  Sabbath  schools  to 
receive  with  pleasure,  or  to  mark,  learn,  or  digest, 
many  of  our  Sabbath  school  lessons — such  even  as 
we  in  our  superior  wisdom  have  decided  to  be  adapt- 
ed to  their  wants  and  capacities. 

§  V.    THE    LESSONS    SHOULD    BE    INTELLIGIBLE, 

For,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  not  only  necessary 
that  the  lesson  should  be  good — that  is,  such  as  in 
the  judgment  of  adults  is  good  for  adults — but  it 
must  be  intelligible.  I  might  speak  here,  more  fully 
than  I  have  before  done,  of  the  importance  of  having 
for  superintendents  and  teachers,  those  w-ho  are,  or 
have  been,  parents ;  or  who  have  at  least  had  the 
care  of  children,  a  good  deal,  in  some  way.     Those 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  87 

who  have  been  successful  both  as  teachers  and 
parents,  are  preferable,  whenever  such  can  be  ob- 
tained ;  that  is,  provided  their  other  quaUfications 
are  equal.  For  none  know  so  well  what  will  be  in- 
telligible to  children  as  those  who  have  made  chil- 
dren and  the  character  and  tastes  of  children  an  ob- 
ject of  study. 

But  be  the  superintendent  or  teacher  whom  he 
may,  he  must  labor  to  make  himself  and  his  lessons 
understood.  Paul,  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans, says,  that  when  laboring  in  and  for  the  churches 
he  had  rather  speak  five  words  with  his  understand- 
ing, that  by  his  voice  he  might  teach  others  also, 
than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue ; 
but  many  of  our  Sabbath  school  teachers  do  not 
seem  to  be  of  Paul's  opinion.  Not  only  are  the  les- 
sons themselves  unintelligible,  but  the  teachers  throw 
little  or  no  light  on  them. 

What  the  lesson  is,  whether  parable,  command- 
ment, doctrine,  history,  biography,  travels,  chronolo- 
gy, genealogy,  geography,  customs,  manners,  ana- 
tomy, physiology,  astronomy  or  geology,  is,  in  my 
view,  of  far  less  consequence,  that  is,  in  the  hands  of 
a  person  of  right  qualifications  and  a  right  spirit, 
than  its  intelligibility.  Any  thing,  or  almost  any 
thing,  may  be  made  plain  to  the  youngest  minds  we 
meet  with  in  our  Sabbath  schools ;  and  almost  any 
thing  may  be  obscured  by  those  who,  as  was  said  of 


OO  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Job  by  his  Maker,  darken  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge. 

§  VI.    SOLEMN   YET    CHEERFUL. 

While  the  exercises  of  the  Sabbath  school  should 
be  conducted  with  all  that  solemnity  which  is  due 
to  the  Lord's  day,  they  ought  at  the  same  time  to 
be  cheerful.  I  know  of  no  good  to  be  derived  from 
dressing  religion,  or  any  of  the  ordinances  or  insti- 
tutions of  religion,  in  habiliments  of  gloom ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  much  evil.  Say  what  we  will,  and 
think  what  we  may  about  it,  children  are  always 
repelled  by  giving  a  sombre  cast  to  religious  things ; 
and  on  this  account,  were  it  on  no  other,  I  would 
strive  to  maintain  an  air  of  cheerfulness,  in  the  Sab- 
bath school. 

There  is  much  reason  for  doubt  whether  the  pre- 
vailing belief  that  the  Savior  never  laughed,  but 
was  habitually  grave,  if  not  even  sorrowful,  has  not 
done  a  great  deal  of  mischief  in  the  world.  How 
do  we  know  that  the  Savior  never  laughed  ?  And 
suppose  it  w^ere  so,  is  that  a  part  of  his  character 
which,  in  imitating  him,  we  should  consider  it  indis- 
pensable to  put  on  ?  We  may  be  assured,  however, 
that  there  is  no  good  evidence  that  such  was  the 
fact.  That  he  was  grave,  habitually,  may  be  true ; 
but  is  there  any  incompatibility  between  habitual 
gravity,  and  cheerfulness?     Are  not  some  of  our 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  89 

most  grave  people  among  the  most  cheerful  ? 
Though  they  look  grave,  yet  examine  them  closely 
and  you  perceive  they  wear  the  marks  of  internal 
cheerfulness  after  all.  The  Sabbath  school  is,  of 
course,  no  place  for  laughter  or  merriment,  and  no 
one  will  understand  me  as  saying  that  it  is  so.  And 
awful  may  be  the  consequences,  even  in  this  world — 
leaving"  the  world  eternal  out  of  question — of  trifling 
away  the  sacred  golden  hours  of  the  Sabbath  school. 

§  VII.    NEATNESS    IN   THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL  ROOM. 

Two  reasons  why  neatness  in  tlie  Sabbath  school-  room  is  in- 
dispensable.— The  Sabbath  school  room  itself. — Neatness 
of  person,  clothes  and  books. — Tobacco  in  the  school 
room. — Eatables. — Importance  of  having  a  plan. 

Let  a  Sabbath  school  be  held  where  it  may,  in 
the  church  or  the  conference-house,  or  even  in  the 
school-house,  an  air  of  neatness  should  always  per- 
vade the  place  where  it  is  held.  This  should  be  the 
case,  for  two  reasons.  1.  Because  it  is  well  to  train 
children  to  neatness  and  cleanliness,  both  on  the 
Sabbath  and  week-days — cleanliness  being,  in  the 
opinion  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  next  to  godliness.  2. 
Because  it  is  unpleasant  to  those  who  occupy  the 
seat  of  a  Sabbath  school  room,  after  the  school  is 
closed,  to  sit  down  in  the  midst  of  dirt  which  should 
not  have  been  left  there ;  or  which,  if  left,  should 
have  been  removed  by  those  who  were  the  occasion 
of  it. 

8* 


£0  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

In  some  of  our  churches,  the  central  or  main 
part  of  the  building,  for  the  sake  of  its  warmth  as 
Avell  as  for  several  other  reasons,  is  given  up  to  the 
use  of  the  Sabbath  school.  I  am  always  glad  to 
have  it  thus  given  up,  because  it  is,  on  many  ac- 
counts, and  in  many  instances,  the  best  place  in 
which  a  Sabbath  school  can  possibly  be  held.  And 
yet  it  is  no  small  sacrifice  to  the  owners  of  slips  or 
pews  to  relinquish  them  in  favor  of  the  school.  The 
books  and  other  things  which  they  leave,  are  liable, 
for  aught  they  know,  to  be  misplaced  or  injured ; 
their  cushions  to  be  soiled,  their  seats,  &c.,  to  be 
cut,  marked,  or  defaced,  and  a  thousand  little  name- 
less evils  to  ensue.  If  the  Sabbath  school  is  held  in 
these  places,  therefore,  great  pains  should  be  taken 
to  prevent  any  harm  from  arising  to  the  owners  of 
the  seats  which  are  occupied. 

But  there  are  other  points  on  which  great  care 
should  be  exercised  by  the  superintendent  and  teach- 
ers, in  order  to  form  habits  of  neatness.  The  per- 
sons and  clothes  of  pupils,  but  more  especially  their 
books,  should  be  kept  clean.  Every  child  in  the 
Sabbath  school  needs,  as  it  seems  to  me,  a  Bible,  if 
no  other  book.  And  yet  unless  great  pains  are 
taken  this  Bible  will  be  injured,  not  merely  by  the 
smallest  scholars,  but  by  older  ones. 

I  could  indeed  hope  that  no  member  of  the  Sab- 
bath school,  whether  pupil  or  teacher,  would  be  so 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  91 

reckless  of  health  and  decency  as  to  carry  tobacco 
into  the  school  room,  either  in  the  mouth  or  pocket. 
And  yet  such  things  have  been  done.  I  have  been 
so  annoyed  by  the  smell  of  tobacco,  while  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  without  being  quite  able  to  ascer- 
tain the  source  whence  it  came,  that  I  was  hardly  in 
a  condition  to  go  on  with  my  labors.  Shame  on 
those  boys  who  need  the  hints  here  thrown  out ;  but 
still  more  disgraceful  is  the  conduct  of  those  teach- 
ers who  set  them  the  example. 

Nor  is  it  much  more  commendable  for  the  pupils 
to  carry  nuts,  fruit,  food,  &c.,  in  their  pockets,  in 
order  to  eat  in  Sabbath  school,  and  above  all  to  drop 
the  skins,  &c.,  on  the  floor.  I  do  not  wonder  at  all, 
if  many  persons,  who  are  the  owners  of  pews  or 
slips  in  churches,  should  be  unwilling  to  give  them 
up  to  the  use  of  the  Sabbath  school.  And  yet  they 
might  do  it  with  safety,  were  every  teacher  and  pu- 
pil— and  every  parent  too — what  he  should  be. 
Such  things  ought  never  to  be  admitted  by  parents 
to  the  pockets  of  school  children. 

I  have  treated  of  these  little  things,  as  many  will 
call  them,  in  a  formal  lecture,  because  it  really  hap- 
pens in  the  result  that  they  are  something  more  than 
little  things.  They  have  much  to  do  not  only  with 
the  comfort  and  neatness  of  the  Sabbath  school,  but 
also  with  order  and  decency. 

I  must  not  omit  to  speak,  in  this  place,  of  the 


92  THE   SABBATH   SCHOOL 

importance,  on  the  part  of  both  the  superintendent 
and  teachers,  of  having  a  plan  before  them  at  the 
Sabbath  school,  not  only  generally,  but  for  each  day 
in  particular.  These  plans  should  be  devised  and 
matured,  in  part  at  home,  and  in  part  at  the  M^eekly 
meetings  to  which  I  shall  hereafter  refer.  Nothing 
can  be  done  in  the  church,  the  family,  or  the  school, 
i.  e.,  hardly  any  thing,  without  a  plan,  however 
often  we  may  be  obliged  to  vary  it  to  meet  new  ex- 
igencies and  new  exercises. 

§  Vin.    THE   EXERCISES   SHOULD  BE  MADE  INTERESTING. 

Three  rules  for  rendering  ihe  exercises  interesting. — Story 
telling. — Bell  ringing. — Contribution  boxes,  and  other  in- 
terruptions.— Necessity  of  regulating  lime  and  tempera- 
ture.— Power  of  sympathy. 

Yet  whatever  the  plan  may  be,  no  plan  can  be 
executed  happily  without  the  most  unremitting  kind- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  superintendent  and  teachers ; 
nor  without  the  most  unremitting  efforts  to  make  the 
school  pleasant  and  the  exercises  interesting.  Not 
that  much  should  be  said  to  the  pupils  themselves 
about  variety,  or  pleasure,  or  interest,  or  happiness ; 
— our  conduct  should  be  a  continual  evidence  of  the 
state  of  our  feelings  with  respect  to  our  pupils. 

There  are  a  thousand  ways  of  making  the  Sab- 
bath school  interesting,  of  which  an  anxious  and 
faithful  superintendent  or  teacher  may  avail  himself 
First,  his  countenance  may  be  such  as  to  impart 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  93 

cheerfulness  and  pleasure,  or  the  contrary.  Sec- 
ondly, his  actions  may  manifest  the  same  disposition. 
Thirdly,  his  words,  and  general  conduct.  Children 
do  not  misunderstand  us.  They  read  our  true  feel- 
ings much  more  readily  than  we  usually  suppose. 

I  believe  it  will  be  distinctly  understood  by  this 
time,  that  I  attach  little  value  to  formal  addresses  to 
our  pupils,  whether  by  the  superintendent,  by  strang- 
ers, or  by  teachers.  If  addresses  are  ever  made, 
however,  they  should  be  exceedingly  short,  and 
should  consist  chiefly  of  some  striking  illustration  or 
story,  the  moral  of  which  can  hardly  be  mistaken. 
The  tendency  of  much  formal  lecturing  to  harden 
the  young  heart,  and  promote  practical  infidelity, 
has  been  more  than  once  adverted  to.  I  may  be 
mistaken  as  to  the  general  principle,  though  proba- 
bly I  am  not ;  but  whether  mistaken  or  not  in  gen- 
eral, I  am  certain  there  is  no  mistake  in  regard  to 
the  effect  of  much  formal  lecturing  in  the  Sabbath 
school.  It  can  do  no  possible  good ;  it  may  do  a 
great  deal  of  harm. 

I  have  said  that  a  very  short  recess  in  the  course 
of  the  Sabbath  school  exercises  may  sometimes  be 
desirable  -,  but  on  the  whole  I  should  prefer,  at  such 
seasons,  a  short  story  from  the  superintendent,  either 
read  from  a  book  or  given  verbally,  or  sometimes 
a  mere  anecdote.  I  have  also  thought  it  might  be 
well  for  the  superintendent  to  present  to  his  pupils, 


94  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

on  these  occasions,  a  summary  of  the  principal  Sab- 
bath school  intelligence,  foreign  and  domestic ; 
though  in  this  sort  of  instruction,  I  should  be  as  brief 
and  as  sparing  as  possible. 

Many  attach  a  good  deal  of  importance  to  the 
circumstance  of  having  a  small  bell  in  the  school- 
room to  be  rung  by  the  superintendent  as  the  signal 
for  giving  their  attention  when  the  school  is  about 
to  be  opened,  prayer  attended,  or  any  other  change 
made,  which  concerns  all.  But  I  have  usually  found 
that  a  slight  rap  with  a  penknife  or  pencil  was  suffi- 
cient for  every  purpose.  Besides,  I  wish  always  to 
remove  every  thing  from  the  Sabbath  school  which 
gives  it  a  mere  formal  character.  The  contribution 
box,  let  the  object  be  ever  so  praiseworthy ;  the  li- 
brary ;  together  wdth  all  sorts  of  rewards  of  merit, 
seem  to  me  but  poorly  adapted  to  the  solemnity — the 
sacredness  rather — of  God's  holy  day  and  house. 

If  there  be  an  absolute  necessity  for  any  thing 
which  gives  to  the  school  room  a  secular  or  mechan- 
ical appearance,  it  is  a  clock,  with  perhaps  a  ther- 
mometer. These  instruments,  the  one  to  *measure 
time  and  the  other  temperature,  seem  to  be  quite 
indispensable.  Many  a  Sabbath  school  is  noisy 
because  the  temperature  is  not  what  it  should  be ; 
it  is  too  hot  or  too  cold.  For  though  the  pupils  may 
not  make  any  complaint,  in  so  many  words,  they 
often  suffer  a  good  deal,  and  manifest  that  sufferihg 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  95 

by  restlessness  or  inattention.  And  many  a  superin- 
tendent and  teacher,  for  want  of  a  thermometer  and 
a  little  reasoning  on  the  subject,  has  not  only  been 
miserable  himself  for  a  long  time,  but  made  the 
school  miserable.  For  the  power  of  sympathy  is 
very  great.  As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the  school,  says 
the  French  philosopher  Cousin ;  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher  who  smiles  w^ill  have  a  smiling  school,  while 
he  who  is  inwardly  or  outwardly  unhappy,  whether 
his  unhappiness  is  evinced  by  changing  color  often, 
by  erratic  or  hurried  movements  across  the  room, 
by  trembling  hands  or  a  tremulous  voice,  by  down- 
cast eyes,  or  by  frowns,  will  soon  find  his  school 
sympathize  with  him. 

§  IX.    CLASSIFICATION    OF    THE    SCHOOL. 

Number  of  classes. — Importance  of  good  teachers. — Classify- 
ing according  to  age  or  capacity. — According  to  be- 
havior.— A  common  error. — Anecdote  of  Plato. — Power 
of  example  as  a  means  of  reformation.— One  source  of 
injury  to  Sabbath  schools. 

How  many  classes  there  shall  be  in  a  Sabbath 
school  depends,  as  I  suppose,  on  the  decision  of  the 
question,  How  many  good  teachers  can  be  secured  1 
For  though  it  is  commonly  thought — and  with  much 
of  truth — that  sixpapilsare  enough  for  one  teacher, 
yet  it  seems  to  me  better  to  place  ten  or  twelve  pu- 
pils under  the  care  of  one  good  teacher,  than  for  the 
sake  of  having  the  classes  smaller  to  take  part  of  the 
twelve  ana  place  them  under  the  care  of  a  teacher 


96  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

who  is  not  well  qualified  for  his  task.  The  utmost 
exertion  should  be  made,  no  doubt,  to  procure  an  ef- 
ficient teacher  to  every  five  or  six  scholars ;  but  if  I 
had  but  ten  really  good  teachers  to  one  hundred 
pupils,  I  would  certainly  think  it  better  to  distribute 
the  whole  among  them  than  to  give  to  each  of  them 
his  quota  of  six  pupils  and  place  the  remainder  under 
the  care  of  persons  in  whose  abilities  or  disposition 
I  had  less  confidence. 

As  to  classifying  according  to  age  or  capacity, 
this  seems  to  me  a  matter  of  less  consequence  in  a 
Sabbath  school  than  is  sometimes  supposed.  If  I 
had  the  charge  of  a  class  of  pupils  who  had  made 
considerable  progress  in  the  sciences,  I  would  still 
desire  to  teach  them  the  Bible  in  all  the  simplicity  of 
a  little  child.  The  Bible  is,  in  fact,  a  simple  book. 
I  am  more  and  more  astonished  at  its  simplicity ; 
and  the  more  truly  learned  a  pupil  is  in  the  common 
branches  of  human  knowledge,  the  better  is  he  pre- 
pared to  study  it  as  a  simple  book.  In  short,  to  re- 
peat what  I  have  repeatedly  said,  I  would  teach  all 
classes  and  all  ages,  trained  as  all  ages  and  classes 
?ww  are,  ignorant  of  the  Bible  and  of  Bible  science — 
very  nearly  in  the  same  way. 

Nor  would  I  wish  to  classify  in  regard  to  be- 
havior so  as  to  put  a  youth  of  a  particular  cast  under 
the  care  of  a  teacher  who  is  especially  adapted  to 
the   management  of  boys  of  that   description.     I 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  97 

would  make  no  provision  of  this  sort  in  a  Sabbath 
school.  Let  us  make  the  instruction  simple,  and  we 
shall  hardly  fail  to  make  it  agreeable;  especially  if 
we  really  love  children,  and  are  truly  fond  of  the 
employment  of  teaching. 

Some,  I  know,  regard  it  as  an  evil  to  mix  the 
light-minded  and  the  grave,  the  obedient  and  the 
docile,  with  the  careless  or  heedless.  But  this  has 
appeared  to  me  the  best  way  of  reforming  bad  pu- 
pils. We  must,  after  all,  everywhere  in  life  and  in 
every  thi7ig,  depend  much  more  than  we  have  hitherto 
done  on  the  influence  of  example  as  a  means  of  re- 
formation. We  must  be  content  to  mingle  the  evil 
with  the  good,  especially  where  we  have  good 
enough  to  form  a  correct  cuirent  of  opinion  and 
action. 

We  have  all  read,  perhaps,  the  story  of  Plato 
and  his  dissipated  nephew,  which  whether  true  or 
untrue  is  very  much  to  my  present  purpose.  This 
•wretched  young  man,  having  been  spurned  from  his 
father's  house,  and  refused  the  society  of  his  more 
intimate  friends,  was  received  by  Plato ;  and  when 
every  body  wondered  that  so  good  a  man  as  Plato 
was  should  harbor  such  a  bad  youth,  he  only  said 
that  he  wished  to  shovv  him,  by  a  suitable  example, 
how  much  better  it  was  to  be  industrious,  temperate, 
and  pure,  than  to  be  indolent,  vicious,  and  abandon- 
9 


98  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

ed  — or  in  other  words,  how  much  better  it  was  to 
live  well  than  to  live  ill. 

It  will  be -time  enough  to  separate  mankind — 
the  good  from  the  bad,  and  the  obedient  from  the 
disobedient — when  the  judgment  shall  have  set,  and 
the  books  shall  have  been  opened.  Till  that  time  the 
general  rule  is  not  to  separate  them — to  which  rule 
three  should  be  the  smallest  possible  number  of  ex- 
ceptions. In  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares, 
it  is  said,  Let  both  grow  together  till,  the  time  of  the 
harvest;  and  human  wisdom  has,  as  yet,  devised 
nothing  better.  There  is  something  wrong  about  our 
houses  of  correction,  our  houses  of  industry,  our  houses 
for  juvenile  delinquents,  our  alms-houses,  &c.,  &c. 
These  persons  ought  to  be  in  good  families,  rather  than 
in  confinement,  although  it  is  admitted  that  solitary 
confinement  is  better  than  the  association  of  vice  and 
crime.  What  I  say  is,  that  there  is  a  more  excel- 
lent way  still ;  and  it  is  here  that  I  wish  to  bring 
my  remarks  to  bear  on  the  Sabbath  school.  If  we 
have  in  a  school  of  one  hundred  pupils  divided  into 
ten  classes  twenty  who  are  disorderly  and  twenty 
more  who  are  careless,  it  is  better  to  put  two  of  each 
of  these  into  a  class  with  six  good  pupils,  than  to  sep- 
arate them,  and  have  four  bad  classes  and  six  good 
ones. 

I  know  this  opinion  is  contrary  to  the  current 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  99 

opinion  of  mankind.  It  is  usually  thought  better 
to  separate  the  bad  from  the  good,  forgetting  that 
we  thus  usurp  the  throne,  or  at  least  the  province 
of  the  Creator.  In  a  world  of  perfect  beings  — in  a 
state  of  reward  merely — it  may  be  safe  for  the  good 
that  the  bad  should  be  away  from  them,  and  it  may 
be  just  for  the  bad — those  who  have  gone  so  far  as 
to  be  irreclaimable  ;  but  in  an  imperfect  state  of 
humanity  like  our  own,  it  is  neither  best  for  the  one 
nor  safe  for  the  other. 

I  may  seem  to  be  away  from  my  subject — the 
classification  of  the  Sabbath  school;  but  it  is  not 
so.  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  show  that  superin- 
tendents and  teachers  may  save  themselves  a  great 
deal  of  care  and  anxiety  about  the  adaptation,  as 
Mr.  Todd  in  his  Lectures  calls  it,  of  teacher  to  pupils 
and  pupils  to  teacher.  A  good  man,  and  one  es- 
pecially who  is  a  good  teacher,  is  always  adapted 
to  his  children  or  pupils.  If  they  are  good,  the 
adaptation  will  of  course  be  seen  and  admitted ;  if 
they  are  bad,  he  is  certainly  better  adapted  to  them 
than  any  other  person  would  be.  The  great  point, 
therefore,  in  a  Sabbath  school,  is  to  get  a  few  indi- 
viduals to  teach  who  really  love  their  pupils,  who 
understand  them,  and  who  delight  to  teach  them. 
If  only  four  such  can  be  found  to  one  hundred  scho- 
lars, we  should  employ  that  four  and  no  more ;  but 
if  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty,  it  is  so  much  the  better. 


100  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Having  obtained  a  few  teachers  of  the  right  stamp, 
go  forward  and  do  .the  best  you  can  with  them. 

In  conckision,  under  this  particular  head,  let  me 
just  say,  that  our  Sabbath  schools  are  often  ruined 
by  getting  every  body  into  them.  We  seem  to  think 
that  every  one  whose  own  heart  is  right  with  God 
is  fit  to  teach  religion  to  others  ;  than  which  no  mis- 
take can  be  greater.  A  teacher  should  be  pious,  to 
be  sure ;  but  it  is  not  one  pious  person  in  ten  who 
is  fit  to  teach  in  the  Sabbath  school.  We  shall  see 
hereafter  that  such  persons  as  I  now  refer  to,  should 
be  learners  raiher  than  teachers ;  and  that  it  is  in 
their  power  to  become  such,  if  they  will  but  take 
the  necessary  pains, 

§  X.    TIME  OF    HOLDING    THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL. 

The  morning  the  best  lime — Four  reasons  whv. — Change 
needed  in  the  public  h.ibiis. — Only  one  S^ibbnh  school 
session  in  a  day — Objections  lo  this. — These  objeciions 
met. — View  of  experience. — Picture  of  a  modern  New 
England  S.ibbith  day. —  viornins:  Sabbath  schools  condu- 
cive lo  the  health  of  the  body,  the  health  of  the  mind,  and 
the  health  of  the  moral  powers. 

The  best  time  for  holding  the  Sabbath  school  is, 
unquestionably,  in  the  morning,  say  an  hour  and  a 
half  before  the  church  services  commence.  If  these 
last  are  begun  at  half  past  ten,  the  Sabbath  school 
should  be  opened  at  nine. 

The  reasons  for  this  are  numerous,  and  some  of 
them  weighty.  1.  The  minds  and  bodies  of  the 
young  are  more  vigorous  in  the  morning,  and  on 


AS   IT    SHOULD    BE.  101 

this  account  whatever  is  done,  is  more  likely  to  be 
well  done,  than  if  deferred  to  a  later  hour  in  the 
day.  2.  The  mind  is  not  only  more  vigorous  in 
the  morning,  but  it  is  not  preoccupied.  3.  The 
minds  of  the  teachers  are  also  likely  to  be  in  the 
best  condition.  4.  By  having  the  Sabbath  school 
exercises  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  an  in- 
terval of  half  an  hour  between  its  close  and  the  com- 
mencement of  public  worship,  and  having  the  whole 
intermission  season  to  themselves,  children  are  less 
likely  to  become  fatigued  with  the  duties  and  labors 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  more  likely  to  carry  some  of  its 
instructions  into  the  week  with  them. 

Many  city  schools,  I  am  aware,  meet  at  the 
hour  of  which  1  am  speaking  in  the  summer,  and  a 
few  do  in  the  winter.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  ex- 
cept in  some  of  our  cities,  Sabbath  schools  are  held 
during  the  intermission,  and  occupy  or  consume  the 
greater  part  of  it.  Sometimes  they  are  attended  to 
immediately  after  the  close  of  the  forenoon  services ; 
at  others,  not  till  some  time  has  elapsed,  say  a  quar- 
ter or  half  an  hour.  Seldom  more  than  half  an  hour. 
On  this  little  inch  of  space  as  it  were,  whether  it 
precede  or  follow  ihe  exercise,  they  have  barely  time 
to  swallow  their  morsel  of  food ;  and  if  they  must 
go  home  for  this  purpose — a  distance  of  from  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  half  a  mile,  and  sometimes 
9* 


102  "•   THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

more — they  have  not  time   even  to  swallow  their 
meal  in  any  proper  or  wholesome  condition. 

When  both  the  morning  and  the  intermission 
are  taken  up  with  the  Sabbath  school,  as  is  some- 
times the  case  in  our  cities,  the  evils  are  still  greater. 
In  such  cases  neither  the  church  exercises,  nor  those 
of  the  Sabbath  school,  so  far  as  the  children  are 
concerned,  can  be  very  valuable.  Observation  and 
study  have  satisfied  me,  that  human  nature  is  not 
strong  enough  to  sustain,  advantageously,  this  sort 
of  task -work.  To  be  kept  from  eight  or  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morninof  till  five  or  six  in  the  afternoon  al- 
most  constantly  under  the  influence  of  religious  ex- 
ercises, is  more  than  one  adult  in  ten  among  us  would 
be  willing  to  endure.  Especially  is  this  the  case 
when  the  religious  feelings  of  the  children  are  not 
enough  developed  to  enable  them  to  relish  the  Sab- 
bath school.  Happily,  however,  this  sort  of  tyranny 
over  the  human  mind  and  body  is  seldom  known  of 
late,  frequent  as  it  was  in  Boston  and  elsewhere  not 
more  than  ten  years  ago.  Common  sense  has  nearly 
rejected  it. 

My  own  belief  is  that  the  best  way — and  indeed 
the  very  thing  to  which  the  Protestant  Christian 
world  is  now  tending — is  to  have  but  two  religious 
exercises  in  the  day  in  the  same  church  and  congre- 
gation,  one  for  the  children  and  another  for  the 


AS  IT    SHOULD    BE.  103 

adults ;  that  for  the  children  to  be  held  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  to  take  the  place  of  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  that  for  the  adults  in  the  afternoon.  In  attend- 
ing on  the  former,  the  children  should  be  accom- 
panied by  their  parents  and  friends;  in  attending 
the  latter  the  parents  should  be  accompanied  by  the 
children. 

As,  however,  the  period  is  very  distant  when 
this  arrangement  will  come  into  vogue,  and  some 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  citizens,  if  not  indeed  sev- 
eral whole  generations  will  in  the  mean  time  have 
passed  away  from  this  life's  busy  scenes  to  the 
scenes  of  other  worlds,  we  shall  for  a  long  time  to 
come  be  in  need  of  something  not  unlike  our  present 
Sabbath  schools.  For  this  purpose,  and  with  this 
view,  we  must  come  as  near  to  what  we  desire  as 
our  circumstances  and  the  public  opinion  will  permit. 

Only  one  Sabbath  school  session  in  a  day  we 
must  insist  on  everywhere,  and  this  I  think  will 
generally  be  granted.  We  must  next  insist  on  hav- 
ing this  one  session  in  the  morning,  both  winter  and 
summer.  Here  there  will  be  objections;  and  some 
of  them,  at  first  view,  seem  to  many  to  be  formida- 
ble. 

The  most  formidable,  however,  of  the  whole  is, 
that  during  the  short  days  of  winter,  those  parents 
and  masters  who  reside  at  a  distance  cannot  get 
their  children  to  the  school  in  season. 


104  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

We  will  suppose  some  of  them  live  at  the  dis- 
tance of  five  miles  from  the  church,  though  in  our 
New  England  communities  it  seldom  happens  that 
many  reside  so  far  off.  What  then  1  What  are 
five  miles  ?  For  little  children,  it  will  be  said,  five 
miles  is  quite  a  long  distance  to  walk ;  and  so  it  is. 
But  why  shall  not  the  parents  accompany  them  ? 
But  if  they  do,  those  who  have  vehicles  of  any  sort 
would  very  naturally  carry  their  children. 

But  I  shall  still  be  told  that  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  is  a  very  improper  time  to  open  a  Sabbath 
school  in  winter;  and  that  nobody  would  attend. 
But  is  it  so  1  Would  nobody  attend  ?  But  if  so, 
why  not  7  Those  who  live  near  the  place  of  meet- 
ing could  attend  even  at  such  an  early  hour  :  so  that 
the  seats  of  the  classes  would  not  be  wholly  vacant. 
It  is  impossible,  I  have  heard  it  said,  for  those 
who  have  the  care  of  a  family  to  get  them  ready  for 
the  Sabbath  school  so  early,  even  if  the  distance  is 
not  very  great.  But  is  the  morning  of  the  Sabbath 
shorter  than  the  morning  of  other  days  1  Yet 
who  does  not  know  that  it  is  quite  common  for 
parents  to  get  ready  their  large  families  on  week- 
days for  the  day  school  which  begins  at  nine  o'clock  ? 
I  have  known  more  than  one  district  school  where 
large  families  of  from  five  to  seven  children  have 
been  regularly  at  the  school  by  the  accustomed  hour 
of  nine  o'clock,  through  the  winter,  although  they 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  105 

were  oblio;ed  to  walk  from  one  to  two  miles.  And 
I  have  attended  one  school  where  the  ages  of  the 
pupils  varied  from  five  to  twenty — about  the  age  of 
our  Sabbath  school  pupils — where  one  quarter  or 
one  third  of  them  came  a  distance  of  from  two  to 
four  miles;  and  I  always  observed  that  none  were 
more  punctual  to  the  hour  of  opening  the  school 
than  those  who  were  obliged  to  walk  three  miles  or 
more.  Does  nine  o'clock  come  earlier,  I  again  ask, 
on  Sunday  morning  than  on  any  other'? 

But  parents  are  obliged  to  get  ready  for  church 
themselves,  it  will  be  said,  which  is  a  task  to  which 
they  are  not  compelled  on  week-days.  True;  but 
then  they  have  something  else  to  do,  on  week-day 
mornings;  that  is  to  say,  they  will  do  something 
else.  This  excuse  will  not  answer.  Let  us  come 
at  once  to  the  real  apology.  This  (in  plain  Eng- 
lish) would  probably  read  thus  : 

"  We  have  always  been  in  the  habit  of  lying  in 
bed  a  little  later  on  Sunday  morning  than  on  other 
mornings  ;  and  it  is  quite  inconvenient  to  break  the 
habit.  It  would  cost  us  no  little  self-denial  to  get 
up,  on  Sunday  morning,  in  time  to  prepare  our  chil- 
dren for  a  Sabbath  school  which  begins  at  nine 
o'clock."  This,  I  think,  would  come  very  near  be- 
ing the  true  apology ;  to  which,  however,  might  be 
added  as  a  sort  of  appendix,  that  there  is  a  great  deal 
of  shaving,  brushing  boots  and  clothes  and  extra 


106  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

labor  about  the  house,  especially  in  preparing  and 
arranging  dresses  on  Sunday  morning. 

I  wish  those  who  are  opposed  to  the  custom  of 
having  the  Sabbath  school  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  would  give  the  true  reasons  why  they  ob- 
ject to  it,  and  then  we  should  know  better  how  to 
meet  them.  We  should  tell  them  that  if  Sab- 
bath school  instruction,  which  is  gratuitous,  is  as 
valuable  to  them  as  that  week-day  instruction  for 
which  they  pay,  there  is  as  good  a  reason  for  rising 
early  on  Sunday  morning  and  availing  themselves 
of  it,  as  there  is  for  rising  early  enough  on  the  week- 
day to  get  their  children  away  to  the  district  school 
in  due  season. 

Let  people  either  acknowledge  that  the  Sabbath 
school  is  of  little  consequence,  and  so  let  it  be  given 
up,  or  else  let  it  be  so  managed  as  to  be  likely  to 
answer  the  end  for  which  it  was  designed.  This 
end  1  am  sure  can  never  be  answered  by  having 
the  exercises  during  the  intermission  of  the  services. 
Let  us  have  the  Sabbath  school  in  the  morning,  or 
not  at  all. 

If  there  were  any  apology  worthy  of  the  name 
of  an  apology,  for  having  the  Sabbath  school  held 
during  the  intermission,  except  the  indolent  wicked 
habit  of  lying  in  bed  later  on  Sunday  morning  than 
on  any  other,  and  then  spending  too  large  a  propor- 
tion of  the  golden  hours  after  getting  up,  in  unne- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  107 

cessary  not  to  say  wicked  labor,  I  would  not  utter 
a  word  more  on  the  subject.  Having  thus  publicly 
protested  against  it,  I  would  suit  the  action  to 
the  word,  and  dissolve  my  connection  with  Sabbath 
school  teaching  at  once. 

Satisfied,  however,  that  I  have  hit  on  the  true 
reason  why  it  is  not  held  in  the  morning,  and  be- 
lieving that  I  can  make  it  appear  to  others  that  this 
is  the  true  reason  ;  but,  that  instead  of  being  a  good 
and  substantial  reason — one  which  God  will  con- 
sider good  and  substantial  in  the  great  day  of  ac- 
count —  it  is  no  reason  at  all,  I  have  determined  to 
go  forward. 

Let  it  be  that  there  were  some  object  of  gain  or 
honor  or  pleasure  to  be  secured  by  bringing  the 
children  of  a  parish  or  town  together  at  nine  o'clock 
on  Sunday  morning — and  let  it  be  that  the  object 
was  deemed  a  lawful  one.  Let  it  be  a  panoramic 
view  of  the  principal  cities  and  objects  of  curiosity 
in  the  known  world.  These,  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
viewed  to  advantage,  were  to  be  seen,  gratuitously 
we  will  suppose,  by  the  people  of  the  town  and 
their  children,  provided  they  would  come  together 
for  the  purpose  on  Sunday  morning  at  nine  o'clock. 
We  will  suppose,  I  repeat  it,  that  there  was  nothing 
unlawful  in  the  sight  of  God  in  thus  coming  toge- 
ther, any  more  than  in  bringing  together  the  Sab- 
bath school.     It  would  be  difficult  to  make  me  be- 


108  THE    SABBATH  SCHOOL 

lieve  that  the  panorama  would  be  as  thinly  attended 
as  the  Sabbath  school.  Every  parent  who  had  any 
curiosity  at  all,  and  knew  the  wonders  of  the  pano- 
ramic art,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  would  be  sure  to  be 
present  with  his  children,  and  that  too  in  due  and 
proper  season. 

I  might  mention  a  hundred  things,  for  aught  I 
knoM',  which  would  prove  a  sufficient  inducement  to 
most  persons  to  get  out  their  children  early  Sunday 
morning;  I  will  add,  however,  but  one.  Let  it  be 
distinctly  understood  that  the  parents  and  masters  of 
every  child  in  the  parish  who  would  bring  their 
children  together  in  the  town  hall,  or  any  other  cen- 
tral place,  every  Sunday  morning  at  nine  o'clock, 
and  remain  with  them  an  hour,  should  receive  one 
dollar  for  every  such  child,  ward,  or  servant,  and  let 
there  be  no  wrong  in  doing  so,  and  we  should  hear 
no  apologies  about  the  shortness  of  the  mornings, 
the  coidness  of  the  season,  or  the  difficulty  of  getting 
ready.  Grant  even  that  each  parent  felt  it  necessary 
to  spend  as  much  time  on  cfress,  for  himself  and  chil- 
dren, as  is  now  thought  necessary  on  the  Sabbath 
morning,  still  the  difficulty  could  be  got  over.  Much 
of  the  preparation  could  be  made  Saturday  evening. 
Very  small  indeed  would  be  the  number  of  parents 
who  would  miss  the  opportunity  of  getting  one,  two, 
three,  four,  five,  six,  or  more  dollars  a  Sabbath 
throuLjhout  the  year,  when  it  was  to  be  obtained  at 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  109 

SO  little  sacrifice.  Families  of  five,  six,  or  eight 
children,  above  all — the  very  families  whose  heads 
complain  that  they  cannot  get  their  children  early 
to  S<  bbath  school — would  be  sure  to  turn  out  for 
the  sake  of  the  bounty  of  from  two  hundred  to  four 
hundred  dollars  a  year. 

Now  if  these  things  are  so,  what  is  the  rightful 
inference  1  Can  it  be  any  thing  else  than  either 
that  we  have  no  confidence  in  our  Sabbath  schools, 
as  being  useful  to  our  children,  or  that  we  value 
money  more  highly  than  souls,  even  the  souls  of 
those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  us  ? 

Perhaps  there  is  one  more  inference.  Perhaps 
we  are  really  in  such  poverty  that  we  feel  ourselves 
compelled  to  over-work  during  the  week,  and  espe- 
cially to  work  late  on  Saturday  evening,  and  get 
so  much  worn  out  that  we  cannot  become  sutFi- 
ciently  restored  by  the  usual  hour  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing ;  so  that  we  are  obliged  to  lie  late  and  then  let 
go  the  Sabbath  school  till  noon,  whereas  the  offer 
of  a  gratuity  on  Sunday  morning  would  relieve  us 
from  the  necessity  of  laboring  to  excess  and  enable 
us  to  finish  our  work  in  six  days,  according  to  God's 
appointment.  Even  in  the  latter  case,  however,  1 
would  still  be  inclined  to  ask.  Are  there  no  causes  of 
this  universal  indigence,  which  cannot  be  removed  '^ 
It  is  strange  indeed  that  the  Creator  has  bid  us  do 

10 


110  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

all  our  work  in  six  days,  when  the  six  clays  are  not 
long  enough  for  this  purpose. 

The  subject  is  a  painful  one  at  best.  I  beseech 
those  who  hear  me  to  ask  themselves  whether  the 
remarks  I  have  made  are  applicable,  in  any  respect, 
to  themselves.  No  person  of  good  sense  and  a  just 
knowledge  of  human  nature  will  doubt,  as  it  appears 
to  me,  for  one  moment,  that  the  morning  is  the  best 
season,  in  itself  considered,  for  the  Sabbath  school, 
as  well  as  for  all  other  schools.  Let  him  think,  then, 
why  he  believes  a  thing  is  right,  and  yet  will  not 
do  it. 

I  believe  the  testimony  of  experience  is  ever  in 
favor  of  holding  the  Sabbath  school  in  the  morning. 
Since  I  began  to  prepare  this  course  of  lectures  I 
have  received  from  a  superintendent  of  one  of  the 
Baptist  Sabbath  schools  in  Utica,  an  interesting  let- 
ter on  this  subject,  from  which  I  venture  to  make  a 
single  extract.  The  writer,  by  the  way,  was  wholly 
ignorant  of  my  own  views  on  the  subject  at  the  time 
he  wrote. 

"  I  was  deeply  affected,"  he  says,  "  yesterday 
when  the  Sabbath  school  of  which  I  am  superin- 
tendent, decided  to  change  the  hour  of  meeting  from 
9  A.  M.  to  1  P.  M.  It  does  appear  to  me  that  Chris- 
tians ought  so  to  arrange  their  affairs  for  the  Sab- 
bath that  they  can  be  ready  to  sow  their  seed  in  the 
morning." 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  Ill 

Some  may  say  that  they  do  not  see,  after  all, 
why  the  custom  of  holding  the  Sabbath  school  be- 
tween the  two  church  services  is  much  more  objec- 
tionable than  that  of  holding  it  in  the  morning  would 
be,  provided  no  more  time  were  taken  up  with  it 
in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other ;  and  provided  also, 
that  the  intermission  season  is  long  enough  to  give 
time  for  rest  and  refreshment  besides. 

But  herein  consists  the  principal  difficulty.  No 
Sabbath  school  takes  up  less  time  than  about  one 
hour;  and  generally  it  consumes  directly  and  indi- 
rectly something  more,  say  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 
Now  if  the  intermission  is  an  hour  and  a  half,  every 
one  sees  that  even  an  exercise  of  one  hour  leaves 
but  scanty  room  for  rest  and  meals.  If  it  is  two 
hours,  which,  however,  is  not  very  common  in  the 
winter,  except  in  our  cities  and  large  towns, 
still  there  is  but  barely  time  left  from  the  Sabbath 
school,  if  only  an  hour  is  devoted  to  it,  to  attend  to 
other  necessary  things.  And  when  by  reason  of  an 
extension  of  the  forenoon  church  services,  some  fif- 
teen minutes  beyond  the  hour  of  twelve  o'clock,  and 
a  tardy  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  superintend- 
ent and  teachers,  even  this  scanty  pittance  is  abridg- 
ed still  more,  the  evil  is  very  great. 

I  should  be  glad  to  see  the  congregation  of  adult 
persons,  if  such  a  one  can  be  found,  who  would 
readily  and  cheerfully  submit  to  the  drudgery  which 


112  THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 

on  the  Sabbath  school  is  often  imposed  upon  the  chil- 
dren. Let  us  take  a  view  of  a  fashionable  Sabbath 
day.  Not  as  it  is  spent  in  vicious  or  careless  fami- 
lies, either ;  but  as  it  is  sometimes  spent  in  families 
of  the  better  sort. 

The  children  rise  in  time  for  breakfast,  but  the 
breakfast  is  late,  say  about  eight  o'clock.  Religious 
exercises  fill  up  the  time  from  half  past  eight,  the 
time  for  rising  for  breakfast,  till  nine  o'clock.  And 
now  for  washing,  and  brushing  shoes  and  clothes, 
and  getting  ready  for  church.  An  hour  is  soon 
spent,  and  at  ten  o'clock  it  is  time  to  be  on  the  road 
to  church :  though  many  who  live  at  a  distance  set 
out  by  half  past  nine.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  the 
children  get  a  few  moments,  either  before  or  after 
breakfast,  for  studying  their  lessons ;  but  it  is  believ- 
ed that  this  is  not  generally  the  case  ;  and  if  it  some- 
times happens,  they  are  not  moments  of  quiet  but  of 
haste. 

At  half  past  ten  they  are  in  church.  Here  they 
are  confined  till  twelve  or  later,  when  the  Sabbath 
school  immediately  follows  ;  after  which  those  who 
do  not  go  home  for  refreshment  have  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  minutes  of  relax  ation.  I  say  of  relaxation  ; 
but  it  is  a  species  of  relaxation  which  is  not  worthy 
of  the  name,  and  which  is  usually  of  little  benefit, 
physically  or  morally.  Sometimes,  I  know,  the  short 
season  of  relaxation  precedes  the  Sabbath  school ;  and 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  113 

sometimes,  but  not  generally,  the  season  of  intermis- 
sion is  two  hours  instead  of  an  hour  and  a  half  in 
length. 

At  half  past  one,  or  at  two,  church  services  again 
commence,  and  continue  till  three  o'clock  or  half 
past  three,  and  sometimes  till  nearly  four.  Then  all 
go  home,  of  course,  and  arrive  at  various  hours  from 
half  past  three  to  half  past  four,  according  to  the 
time  of  closing  the  services  and  the  distance.  Then 
follows  perhaps,  at  the  end  of  all  this  fatigue  of 
body  and  mind,  a  season  of  family  reading,  or  cate- 
chising, though  in  a  very  large  proportion  of  our 
families  this  is  probably  omitted,  for  it  is  exceeding- 
ly difficult  with  the  present  fashions  to  bring  all  the 
members  of  the  family  together  at  this  time.  After 
supper,  which  under  the  circumstances  is  usually 
rather  full  and  prolonged,  comes  the  regular  family 
worship  ;  after  which  the  burden  of  the  Sabbath — 
all  but  the  load  or  burden  imposed  on  the  stomach — 
is  over. 

Now  I  ask  the  candid  and  reflecting,  if  this  is 
not  about  a  fair  sample  of  a  New  England  Sabbath 
— I  mean  in  the  country  ?  I  have  indeed  said  noth- 
ing of  the  morning,  noon,  or  evening  prayer  meet- 
ing ;  nor  of  the  third  or  fourth  religious  exercise ; 
because  though  some  or  all  of  these  occasionally 
have  a  place,  yet  they  are  by  no  means  general ; 

10* 


Il4  THE  SABBATH    SCHOOL 

and  when  they  are  so,  children  are  not  uniformly 
required  to  attend,  especially  when  they  reside  at  a 
distance. 

Is  not  the  picture  which  I  have  presented  ac- 
cording to  truth  1  Are  not  some  of  our  children 
tasked  in  a  manner  which  is  highly  improper  and 
unreasonable,  not  to  say  unhealthy  1  The  adult  has 
his  liberty  to  some  extent,  during  the  intermission, 
though  it  should  be  a  short  one.  And  to  this  liberty 
according  to  my  view  the  child  is  entitled.  We 
have  no  right — no  moral  right  I  mean  of  course — 
to  deprive  him  of  it.  By  giving  him  a  season  of 
rest  at  noon,  though  only  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two 
hours,  you  divide  a  tedious  day — tedious  to  him,  I 
mean — into  two  parts,  with  a  space  between  them, 
in  which  to  recruit  his  mental  and  physical  energies. 
I  know  the  Sabbath  will  still  be  a  long  day  to  him, 
even  on  this  plan,  but  it  will  not  appear  so  long,  nor 
will  it  indeed  be  so  intolerable,  as  when  the  season 
of  rest  at  noon  is  denied  him. 

I  have  said  elsewhere — and  I  repeat  the  senti- 
ment here  that  it  may  not  be  forgotten — I  believe 
that  two  public  exercises  on  the  Sabbath  are  as  many 
as  are  profitable,  either  for  children  or  adults — above 
all  for  children.  The  rest  of  the  time  I  suppose 
might  be  most  profitably  spent  in  the  bosom  of  the 
family.     I  mean  by  this,  that  if  children  attend  a 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  115 

Sabbath  school,  they  ought  to  attend  but  one  of  the 
church  services;  and  that,  as  I  do  not  hke  the  idea 
of  separating  parents  and  children,  I  look  forward, 
with  great  pleasure  to  the  time  when  the  whole 
congregation,  old  and  young,  will  form  a  Sabbath 
school  from  ten  to  twelve  o'clock  in  the  forenoon, 
and  then  the  whole  congregation  together  attend 
a  reo-ular  church  service  between  two  and  four  in 

o 

the  afternoon,  or  what  would  be  better,  perhaps, 
between  one  and  half  past  two. 

However,  as  it  is  probably  several  centuries  too 
early  to  inculcate  this  last  view,  and  perhaps  a  little 
too  early  to  express  it  as  a  hope,  I  will  return  to 
the  work  of  trying  to  provide  the  best  possible  sub- 
stitute. And  this,  as  I  have  repeatedly  said,  I  con- 
sider to  be  a  short  Sabbath  school  in  the  morning. 

This  change,  if  we  can  effect  nothing  further  at 
present,  is  indispensable  to  the  health  of  the  body,  to 
the  right  exercise  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  and 
to  the  wellbeing  of  the  soul. 

And  first  let  me  speak  of  the  health  of  the  body. 
I  beheve  I  shall  be  sustained  by  every  candid  and 
intelligent  medical  man  when  I  say,  that  to  continue 
the  present  round  of  Sabbath  duties  imposed  on 
childhood  is  to  injure,  almost  inevitably  -  and 
that  too  in  a  very  short  time — the  bodily  health  of 
the  majority  of  those  concerned.  I  have  not  a  doubt 
on  my  ov7n  part,  that  nearly  all  suffer  sooner  or 


116  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

later,  and  perhaps  every  individual.  If  you  ask  me 
to  name  the  particular  complaints  to  which  they  are 
subjected,  I  cannot  do  it  without  reference  to  the 
constitutions  and  predispositions  of  each  individual. 
One  will  be  affected  in  one  way  and  another  in 
another.  One  will  be  led  into  a  train  of  nervous 
affections  ;  another  will  find  his  digestion  impaired  ; 
another  his  circulatory  system,  and  so  on.  But  re- 
member that  I  give  it  as  my  honest  and  deliberate  con- 
viction, that  the  course  of  Sunday  management  to 
which  our  best  people  are  now  subjecting  their  chil- 
dren— and  in  the  belief  too  that  they  are  doing  God 
service — is  slowly  but  certainly,  as  a  general  fact, 
undermining  their  constitutions.  If  it  does  not  act- 
ually bring  on  disease,  it  will  certainly  aggravate 
diseases  which  are  induced  by  other  causes.  I  wish 
I  could  dwell  longer  on  this  point,  for  light  is  cer- 
tainly needed  here,  if  anywhere ;  and  I  have  no 
reason  to  think  that  any  of  my  readers  would  will- 
ingly close  their  eyes  against  it.  The  great  diffi- 
culty to  be  met  and  surmounted  in  order  to  a  reform 
in  our  Sabbath  schools  is  the  deplorable  ignorance 
which  everywhere  prevails  in  regard  to  the  consti- 
tution of  mind  and  body.  But  I  must  defer  the 
consideration  of  the  physical  evils  which  grow  out 
of  an  abuse  of  the  Sabbath  school  system  for  some 
other  occasion. 

The  intellectual  evils  cannot  be  so  lightly  passed 


AS    IT    SHOULT)    BE.  117 

over.  Most  of  our  Sabbath  school  children  attend 
the  week-day  school.  Here  the  intellect  is  usually- 
tasked  quite  enough  for  the  health  of  the  mind, 
especially  when  the  child  is  under  the  age  of  seven 
or  eight  years.  I  beheve,  in  fact,  that  it  is  the  con- 
current testimony — at  least  nearly  so — of  all  who 
have  a  right  to  speak  on  this  subject,  that  the  mind 
ought  not  to  be  tasked  much  by  what  is  properly  or 
at  least  usually  called  study  till  a  child  is  full  seven 
years  of  age.  But  if  so,  it  ought  not,  after  having 
been  tasked  six  days  in  seven,  to  be  held  to  labor 
on  the  seventh.  Even  for  those  who  are  beyond 
the  seventh  year,  the  Sabbath  should  be  to  them  a 
day  of  rest ;  and  must  be,  or  the  health  of  their 
minds  will  be  impaired,  and  the  most  unhappy  con- 
sequences sooner  or  later  follow. 

My  own  opinion  is  that  the  intellectual  faculties 
of  children  who  attend  week-day  schools,  and  of 
their  teacher  too,  ought  not  to  be  tasked  at  all  on 
the  Sabbath.  If,  however,  there  must  be  task  work, 
let  us  endeavor  to  have  the  surrounding  and  con- 
necting circumstances  as  favorable  as  possible. 

But  you  bring  so  many  objections  to  the  Sab- 
bath school,  it  will  be  said,  and  to  the  manner  of 
conducting  it,  that  you  will  discourage  people,  and 
lead  them  to  abandon  it ;  so  far,  at  least,  as  they 
place  any  confidence  in  your  views  and  statements. 
A  thing  so  bad,  they  will  say,  as  you  represent  the 


118  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Sabbath  school  system,  is  not  worth  the  trouble  of 
a  day  or  an  hour,  to  attempt  its  reformation.  Why 
not  then  abandon  it  at  once  ? 

But  not  quite  so  fast.  A  thing  which  has  no 
influence,  at  all,  in  society,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
could  not  in  the  short  space  of  60  years  have  accu- 
mulated so  many  abuses.  But  an  institution  which 
is  powerful  for  good  or  for  evil,  and  equally  so,  has 
but  to  be  brought  under  control  and  made  to  operate 
in  the  right  channel,  in  order  to  produce  good,  entire 
and  unmixed.  Besides,  it  is  indispensable,  I  again 
say,  that  every  thing  should  have  its  infancy  ;  and 
if  so,  it  must  be  exposed  to  the  dangers  of  in- 
fancy. 

Sabbath  school  instruction  for  the  old  and  the 
young,  may  be  so  conducted  as  neither  to  injure  the 
body  nor  impair  the  mind ;  but  on  the  contrary  pro- 
mote the  happiness  of  both  ;  and  I  am  endeavoring 
to  show  how.  And  this  remark  leads  me  to  the 
third  point  under  this  head,  viz.,  why  a  change  or 
reform  in  Sabbath  schools  is  necessary  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  soul. 

Let  me  say  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  have 
very  many  doubts  whether  it  is  ever  possible  for  the 
moral  powers  of  man  to  be  in  what  might  be  called  a 
healthy,  vigorous  state,  while  the  body  and  the  intel- 
lect are  sickly  or  even  in  a  perverted  or  wrong  state. 
*'  A  sound  mind,"  alluding  to  man's  whole  nature 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  119 

aside  from  his  bodily  powers,  says  an  old  maxim, 
"  in  a  sound  body,"  as  if  the  two  natm*ally  belonged 
together  and  were  inseparable. 

.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  our  moral  powers  will 
never  thrive  under  abuses  of  which  I  have  been  so 
loudly  complaining.  We  talk  to  children  about 
loving  and  serving  God,  and  going  to  heaven  to 
praise  God  continually,  and  about  the  holiness  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  the  blessedness  of  heaven  because  it 
is  an  eternal  Sabbath.  But  have  we  never  read  the 
story  of  the  little  girl  (from  Mrs.  Barbauld)  who 
after  having  been  made  to  hate  the  Sabbath  by  the 
perpetual  confinement  which  her  good  grandmother 
ignorantly  imposed  on  her  every  time  it  arrived,  and 
having  also  been  told  that  heaven  was  an  eternal 
Sabbath,  honestly  said,  that  if  it  was  so  she  did  not 
want  to  go  there  ? 

Now  children  may  say  what  they  please  to  the 
contrary,  because  trained  to  think  they  must  say  so, 
about  their  respect  for  the  Sabbath  and  its  ordinan- 
ces and  their  love  of  the  Sabbath  school ;  and  pa- 
rents may  think  what  they  please  about  it ;  but  be 
it  remembered,  they  can  no  more  come  to  love  the 
exercises  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  Sabbath  school,  so 
long  as  both  are  made  a  drudgery  to  them,  than 
they  can  come  to  love  that  which  is  bitter  or  acid 
by  continually  eating  it. 

Children,  I  know,  are  highly  imitative  in  their 


120  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

character  ;  and  what  their  parents  and  teachers  love 
they  are  apt  to  love  also.  But  what  parent  or 
teacher  does  really  love  the  Sabbath  school,  as  it  is 
now  usually  managed  ?  He  may  endure  it,  because 
he  thinks  it  a  good  institution,  one  out  of  which, 
some  how  or  other,  and  at  some  time  or  other  God 
may  be  pleased  to  educe  good.  And  children,  in 
like  manner,  may  learn  to  endure  the  Sabbath 
school,  and  a  few  may  mistake  this  power  to  endure, 
as  some  teachers  do,  for  love. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

METHOD   OF   SABBATH  SCHOOL  TEACHING. 

§    I.    ERRORS    OF   PRESENT   METHODS    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

An  example  of  erroneous  teaching. — Endeavor  to  show  that 
such  instruciion  is  not  religious  instiuction. — May  lead  to 
religious  instruction. — Other  methods  which  are  preferable. 

It  has  been  said,  in  a  former  chapter,  that  there 
is  very  little  of  education  among  us,  by  week-day 
or  by  Sabbath,  except  mere  word  education ;  and 
such  I  verily  believe  to  be  the  fact.  The  Sabbath 
school  pupil  and  the  pupil  of  the  district  school  con- 
tinue to  love  and  hate  as  before,  in  despite  of  all 
our  efforts — nor  is  their  health  at  all  improved  by 
them.     Many,  I  am  aware,  will  be  slow  to  admit 


AS    IT   SHOULD    BE.  121 

the  truth  of  this  charge;  and  those  who  admit  it, 
in  its  appUcation  to  other  schools,  will  be  slow  to 
admit  it  in  its  application  to  the  Sabbath  school. 
But  that  it  is  not  made  without  due  consideration,  I 
propose  to  show  by  an  example. 

The  superintendent  of  one  of  our  Sabbath  schools 
not  long  since  gave  out  a  lesson  to  the  school  under 
his  care  on  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th  verses  of  the  last 
chapter  of  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  It  was, 
in  fact,  the  last  of  a  series  of  lessons  prepared  ex- 
pressly for  Sabbath  schools ;  and  the  whole  series 
had  been  studied  in  the  school.  The  verses  referred 
to  are  as  follows : 

"  And  as  many  as  walk  according  to  this  rule, 
peace  be  on  them,  and  mercy,  and  upon  the  Israel 
of  God.  From  henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me  : 
for  I  bear  in  my  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Brethren,  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be 
with  your  spirit.     Amen." 

The  questions  on  the  first  verse  of  this  singular 
lesson — singular  I  mean  for  an  ordinary  Sabbath 
school — were  as  follows.  Let  it  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  the  pupils  were  taught  to  find  answers  to 
the  questions,  if  they  could,  in  the  verses  composing 
the  lesson ;  but  when  there  was  no  answer  to  be 
found  there,  they  were  referred  to  other  parts  of  the 
Bible  for  answers,  as  will  be  seen  by  references  which 
I  shall  read  in  connection  with  many  of  the  questions. 

11 


122  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

"  1.  Who  are  spoken  of  here  1  What  rule  is 
meant  ?  ver.  15.  (Here  the  pupil  is  referred  to 
the  preceding  verse.)  How  do  those  walk  or 
live,  who  act  according  to  that  truth  ?  Eph.  v.  8- 
1 1.  Upon  what  alone  do  they  depend  for  salvation  7 
Gal.  ii.  16.  What  does  the  apostle  wish  to  such  ? 
What  is  the  peace  which  he  desires  for  them  1  Phil, 
iv.  7.  How  is  it  obtained  ?  Rom.  v.  1.  What  is 
the  mercy  which  is  here  spoken  of  1  To  what  are 
the  salvation  and  blessings  of  Christians  owing  ? 
1  Peter  i.  3.  What  is  the  grace  of  God  called,  to 
show  that  it  is  undeserved  by  men  ?  Rom.  v.  15. 
What  is  the  exhortation  of  the  apostle  Jude  ?  Jude 
20,  21.  Is  it  common,  in  the  letters  of  the  apostles, 
to  wish  peace  and  mercy  for  those  to  whom  they 
wrote  1  1  Tim.  i.  2,  Titus  i.  4,  2  John  3.  By 
what  name  are  Christians  called  1  Who  were  at  first 
called  Israel  1  Why  were  they  called  the  Israel  of 
God  ?  Deut.  vii.  6.  Why  are  Christians  now  called 
by  that  name  ?  1  Peter  ii.  9,  10.  How  was  this 
privilege  obtained  for  all  who  believe  in  Christ  1 
Eph.  ii.  13,  16.  How  did  this  truth  show  the  error 
of  the  doctrine  which  the  false  teachers  preached  ? 
Rom.  iii.  21,  22. 

Now  what  is  this  sort  of  instruction  to  the  young, 
but  mere  word  instruction  ?  And  so  far  as  it  is  in- 
telligible, what  does  it  but  address  the  intellect  1 
Now  people  may  fancy  that  this  kind  of  instruction 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  123 

is  religious  instruction  as  much  as  they  will ;  but  I 
can  assure  them,  it  has  no  such  tendency  as  they 
suppose.  It  is  not  lawfully  entitled  even  to  the 
name  of  mora/  instruction.  But  let  us  analyze  it  a 
little. 

"  And  as  many  as  walk  according  to  this  rule," 
&c.  Now  the  first  question  in  the  list  is,  Who  are 
spoken  of  here?  Consequently  the  pupil's  first 
effort  is  to  find,  in  the  verse  to  which  it  refers,  an 
answer  to  it.  Perhaps  he  finds  it — "  they  who 
walk,"  &c.  Perhaps,  however,  he  feels  some  degree 
of  uncertainty,  and  so  when  he  comes  to  the  Sab- 
bath school,  if  the  question  comes  to  him,  he  reads 
the  verse,  and  this  with  many  teachers  answers  the 
purpose,  and  they  pass  on.  Or  if  it  comes  not  to 
him,  he  goes  on  in  uncertainty. 

But  the  next  question  is,  What  rule  is  here 
meant  ?  The  pupil  is  referred,  by  the  book  itself,  to 
verse  15 — the  verse  preceding.  Here  again  he  is  a 
little  at  a  loss,  and  consequently  he  reserves  to  him- 
self the  privilege  of  reading  the  w^hole  verse  should 
it  be  necessary — a  privilege  seldom  if  ever  denied 
him. 

For  a  solution  of  the  next  question  the  pupil  is  refer- 
red toEph.  V.  8-11.  Here  are  four  verses  to  be  read 
or  recited,  in  order  to  come  at  the  answer ;  and  cruel 
indeed  would  the  teacher  be  thought  who  should 
require  his  pupils  to  recite   such   long  references. 


124  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

And  as  for  selecting  the  particular  portion  that 
solves  the  question,  he  seldom  takes  the  pains  to  do 
it ;  nor  could  he  do  it,  in  many  instances,  were  he 
to  make  the  trial.  Now  what  ideas  do  Sabbath 
school  pupils  get  from  all  this  ?  And  suppose  they 
attached  ideas  to  it,  and  were  enlightened,  is  the 
heart  at  all  affected  ?  Are  they  any  nearer  obey- 
ing the  holy  law  of  God  than  they  were  before  they 
recited  it  7  Any  more  disposed  to  love  God  with 
all  their  heart,  soul,  mind  and  strength,  or  their 
neighbor  as  themselves  ?  Is  any  thing  cultivated 
but  the  memory  1  I  am  surprised  at  the  ignorance 
of  the  human  mind  which  those  teachers  betray  who 
suppose  that  such  instruction  as  this  is  religious 
instruction. 

I  know  indeed  that  it  may  by  possibility  lead  to 
religious  instruction  ;  but  it  has  no  religious  power 
of  itself.  It  is  a  dead  letter,  or  worse  than  a  dead 
letter  ;  it  falls  lifeless  upon  the  mere  intellect.  It 
may  lead,  I  say,  to  religious  instruction,  in  the 
hands  of  a  teacher  who  thinks.  Such  a  teacher 
will  find  God,  and  lessons  on  God  and  holiness,  in 
every  thing.  He  may  tell  them  what  is  meant  by 
icalk  and  ruk,  and  what  it  is  to  walk  wrong,  and 
what  to  walk  or  go  by  right  rules.  He  may  pre- 
sent simple  but  forcible  illustrations  of  the  word 
walk  as  it  is  often  used  in  the  Bible,  especially  here. 
He  may  relate  anecdotes  or  recent  occurrences,  and 


AS    IT  SHOULD    BE.  125 

draw  a  moral  from  them  that  will  touch  the  heart. 
Nay  he  may  even  instruct  them  in  the  mechanism 
of  walliing,  and  show  them  the  wonderful  operation 
of  the  laws  of  God  in  the  human  frame.  But  I 
have  spoken  of  results  as  they  usually  are,  in  our 
schools ;  and  not  as  it  is  desirable  they  should  he, 
or  as,  in  the  hands  of  a  good  teacher,  we  can  easily 
imagine  they  might  be. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  several  examples  of 
a  very  different  sort  of  instruction  from  all  this ; 
which,  whether  better  or  worse,  T  leave  to  the  read- 
er. It  is  not  indeed  intended  wholly  as  a  substitute 
for  such  teaching  as  I  have  described  above ;  for  in 
the  hands  of  highly  advanced  Bible  classes  such  les- 
sons, by  the  conversation  to  which  they  give  rise, 
may  have  their  use.  But  a  knowledge  of  geogra- 
phy— that  I  mean  of  the  countries  mentioned  in  the 
Bible — of  history,  biography,  antiquities,  manners 
and  customs,  &c.,  is  of  primary  importance  in  the 
outset  of  a  course  of  religious  instruction ;  and 
whatever  else  is  taught  or  whatever  books  used, 
cannot  be  dispensed  with.  Moreover  it  is  at  once 
intelligible,  interesting  and  profitable,  and  though 
it  may  be  regarded  by  some  as  purely  scientific,  it 
need  not  be  so.  Dr.  Franklin  found  no  diflficulty  in 
moralizing  on  the  lives,  occurrences,  &c.  of  the  Bi- 
ble ',  and  cannot  those  who  prize  the  Bible  as  their 


11* 


126  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

dearest  treasure  do  as  much  with  it  even  in  its  more 
scientijfic  parts  as  the  mere  philosopher  ? 

§  ir.    TEACHING    BIBLE    GEOGRAPHY. 

Value  of  this  sort  of  knowledge. — Illnstvated  by  a  lesson  from 
Mall.  ii.  1,  2. — Objections  to  this  method  considered. — 
Remarks  and  reflections. — A  second  lesson  ot  geography. 

One  of  the  prehminary  or  preparatory  studies 
of  the  Sabbath  school,  as  I  have  already  said,  should 
be  geogi'aphy.  Nothing  gives  so  much  of  reality 
to  the  sacred  narrative  as  a  knowledge  of  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  countries  of  which  it  speaks.  I  ad- 
mit, indeed,  that  thousands  read  the  word  of  God  to 
great  advantage,  without  this  knowledge,  for  the 
wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool — that  is,  uninstructed 
— need  not  err  essentially,  in  any  thing  which  per- 
tains to  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  And  yet  there  is 
an  almost  inconceivable  difference  between  the 
feelings  and  thoughts  of  one  who  reads  a  passage 
of  the  Bible  with  a  mind  nearly  or  wholly  vacant, 
and  one  who  reads  the  same  passage  with  a  mind 
w^hich  sees  at  one  view  every  thing  which  pertains 
to  the  subject  or  subjects  it  embraces. 

To  illustrate  the  difference  to  which  I  refer,  let 
us  take  up  and  consider,  for  a  moment,  the  first  two 
verses  of  the  second  chapter  of  the  gospel  accord- 
ing to  Matthew,  including,  as  they  do,  a  small  por- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  127 

tlon  of  the  early  history  of  our  Savior.  They  are 
as  follows  : 

"  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judea,  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold  there 
came  wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  saying, 
Where  is  he  that  is  born  kino;  of  the  Jews  ?  for  we 
have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are  come  to  wor- 
ship him.'^ 

To  three-fourths  of  the  community  who  should 
read  this  passage,  no  other  ideas  would  be  suggested 
than  the  birth  of  Jesus,  a  great  way  off,  perhaps  east- 
ward ;  places  called  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  and  Judea, 
of  w^hich  it  might  probably  be  conjectured  that  the  first 
was  a  city;  a  king  by  the  name  of  Herod;  certain 
wise  men,  who  came  to  him  from  a  place  eastward 
of  the  king's  residence ;  a  star  in  the  east ;  and  an 
indefinite  notion  of  certain  devotional  acts  by  the 
wise  men.  In  regard  to  all  the  rest,  no  ideas  would 
exist;  and  those  which  I  have  suggested  would  be 
very  obscure  and  indefinite.  Whereas  to  the  mem- 
bers of  a  Sabbath  school  class,  properly  instructed 
and  enlightened,  the  case  would  be  far  otherwise. 
Let  us  see  what  this  proper  instruction  is. 

A  Sabbath  school  class  of  almost  any  age,  but 
especially  if  old  enough  to  know  something  of  geo- 
graphy and  the  use  of  maps,  might  be  profitably 
employed  during  the  whole  time   allotted  to  them 


128  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

for  a  single  Sabbath,  in  a  course  something  like 
what  is  about  to  be  suo;q;ested. 

The  teacher  might  commence  the  exercise  by 
reading  the  first  verse,  and  then  saying  to  the  class 
generally  :  This  verse  tells  us  about  somebody's  be- 
ing born ;  do  you  know  who  it  is  that  is  here  spo- 
ken of  as  being  born  ? 

Perhaps  all,  or  nearly  all,  answer  together,  "  It 
is  Jesus."  Some  may  say  afterward,  "  It  is  Jesus 
Christ."  The  question  would  be,  I  am  aware,  a  very 
simple  one;  but  the  simpler  the  better,  that  the 
class  might  not  be  discouraged  in  the  outset. 

Do  any  of  you  know  how  long  ago  Jesus  Christ 
was  born,  or  in  what  year  ?  If  a  person  should  be 
born  this  year,  he  would  be  said  to  be  born  in  1841 ; 
and  if  one  of  you  had  been  born  just  ten  years  ago, 
this  would  have  been  in  1831.  Now  I  ask  you  if 
you  know  how  long  ago  Christ  was  born,  or  in 
what  year  1 

This  second  question  is  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
require,  for  the  sake  of  very  young  pupils,  a  little 
explanation.  The  teacher  would  endeavor,  howev- 
er, to  make  the  subject  as  intelligible  as  possible. 

He  proceeds  to  ask  :  Do  you  know  where  Jesus 
Christ  was  born  ?  If  you  do  not  recollect,  just  read 
over  the  verse  and  see  if  you  can  find  out.  (Let  the 
reader  keep  in  mind  that  I  am  suiting  my  instruc- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  129 

tlons  here,  to  the  very  youngest  Sabbath  school  pu- 
pils.) "  In  Bethlehem  of  Judea ;"  will  be  there- 
ply,  by  this  time.  Very  well,  in  what  part  of  the 
world  was  Bethlehem,  the  place  where  Jesus  was 
born  ?  Was  it  eastward,  westward,  northward  or 
southward  of  us  ?  Was  it  in  Europe,  America, 
Africa,  or  Asia  ? 

Should  his  pupils  hesitate,  he  might  here  treat 
the  subject  negatively.  Do  you  think  Bethlehem  of 
Judea  was  in  America  ?  Why  not  ?  Was  it  in 
Africa  ?  Why  do  you  think  so  1  If  it  was  not  in 
America  or  Africa,  it  must  have  been  in  Europe 
or  Asia — which  do  you  think  the  most  likely  ? 

Here  a  map  of  the  world — at  least,  an  outline 
map — would  be  desirable.  I  think  it  better  that  it 
should  be  on  Mercator's  projection  ;  but  almost  any 
map  will  do.  Let  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  be 
distinctly  pointed  out,  and  Palestine  shown  ;  and  let 
it  be  distinctly  seen  that  Palestine  is  within  the  limits 
of  Asia.  Let  the  bearing  of  Palestine  from  the 
United  States  be  also  noticed  and  remembered,  as 
well  as  its  bearing  from  Egypt,  Arabia,  Persia,  Chal- 
dea,  Syria,  &c. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  for  some  members  of 
very  young  classes,  and  for  a  large  proportion  of  the 
older  classes  of  a  Sabbath  school,  such  minute  geo- 
graphical instruction  would  not  be  necessary.  And 
yet  there  would  be  so  many  to  whom  it  would  be 


130  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

useful,  that  I  would  certainly  pursue  it,  except  per- 
haps in  the  very  highest  classes;  and  even  these 
should  have  a  little  of  this  sort  of  drillino;.  I  have 
known  many  a  common  school  teacher  who  would 
put  his  oldest  and  most  advanced  pupils,  on  the 
first  day  of  school,  before  forming  an  acquaintance 
with  them,  into  the  spelling  and  reading  of  words 
of  only  one  syllable ;  and  even  into  the  simplest 
elements  of  words  themselves.  If  this  recurrence 
to  first  principles  is  useful  to  the  district  school  pu- 
pil, why  should  it  not  be  equally  useful  in  Sabbath 
schools  1 

After  giving  the  class  a  general  idea  of  the  sit- 
uation of  Palestine,  with  respect  to  other  countries, 
a  judicious  teacher  would  do  well  to  introduce  a  map 
of  Palestine  only,*  with  the  three  principal  divisions 
of  it,  Judea,  Samaria  and  Galilee.  He  would  point 
out  to  them  Judea  with  its  capital,  Jerusalem  in  the 
south,  Samaria  in  the  middle,  and  Galilee  in  the 
north.  Here,  he  would  say,  is  Bethlehem  of  Judea, 
where  the  Savior  was  born,  and  proceed  to  show 
them  its  situation  with  respect  to  Jerusalem,  and 
briefly  to  describe  it  and  relate  any  facts  he  might 
be  acquainted    with  respecting  it,  either  in  connec- 


*  For  this  purpose,  also,  that  is  for  the  purpose  of  giving 
a  general  idea  of  the  structure  of  the  country  to  beginners, 
a  mere  outline  map  is  best,  having  on  it  nothing  but  the 
grand  divisions  of  the  country,  with  the  ruins,  and  moun- 
tains, and  a  few  of  the  principal  cities. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  131 

tion  with  its  ancient  history,  or  its  modern  ap- 
pearance. Some  teachers  would  be  famihar  with 
its  present  condition,  as  set  forth  by  travellers,  who 
may  be  relied  on ;  others  with  its  ancient  history  ; 
and  while  the  former  would  be  able  to  speak  of  the 
convent  of  St.  Helena,  over  the  supposed  spt)t  of  our 
Savior's  birth,  the  latter  would  mention  the  names 
of  some  of  the  distinguished  individuals  who  were 
born  at  Bethlehem,  or  who  lived  or  died  there. 
Were  there  time,  and  were  I  the  teacher,  with  my 
outline  map  before  me,  I  should  think  it  both  a  duty 
and  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to  do  something  in  both 
ways  ;  so  that  if  the  antiquities  of  the  place  did  not 
suffice  to  arrest  attention,  its  modern  state  might 
do  it. 

If  it  is  said  that  this  sort  of  instruction  might  do 
very  well  for  beginners,  but  would  not  do  so  well 
for  more  advanced  pupils,  I  reply,  Try  it,  and  see. 
The  teacher  who  shall  fit  himself  properly  for  this 
work  will  soon  find  that  not  only  older  children  but 
even  adults  will  be  interested  in  it.  How  soon  will 
the  latter  crowd  around  the  teacher  and  his  class, 
and  lend  a  listening  ear  !  They  may  be  attracted, 
it  is  true,  by  the  novelty  of  maps  and  other  appara- 
tus, but  this  is  not  all ;  they  are  attracted  by  the 
ever  active,  never  to  be  wholly  repressed  desire  to 
know — the  lever  upon  which,  in  conjunction  with 
religion,  not  only  the  world  of  the  Sabbath  school, 


132  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

but  the  world  in  general — even  the  most  vicious  and 
miserable  portions  of  it — is  yet  to  be  elevated. 

It  may  be  said  that  by  this  mode  of  teaching  I 
would  encourage  a  species  of  profanation  of  holy 
things — that  instruction  in  geography  is  a  secular 
concern  belonging  to  the  week-day,  rather  than  the 
Sabbath.  It  is  not  so  however  ;  though  the  objec- 
tion will  continually  recur  to  many  minds,  even  if  it 
were  as  frequently  answered  and  answered  satisfac- 
torily. 

But  to  proceed.  The  incidental  instruction  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking  may  be  of  greater  or 
less  extent,  according  to  time,  the  circumstances,  the 
feelings  of  the  teacher,  the  condition  of  the  pupils, 
&c.  Or  it  may  be  varied  to  meet  the  circumstances. 
Thus,  aslhave  already  suggested,  if  the  pupils  do  not 
appear  to  be  interested  in  the  description  of  Bethle- 
hem, as  it  now  is,  the  teacher  may  speak  of  it  as  it 
once  was  ;  if  they  are  uninterested  with- the  biogra- 
phy of  one  person  who  has  resided  in  Bethlehem, 
as  Boaz,  try  that  of  another,  as  David,  or  Jesse  his 
father. 

Nothing  of  this  kind,  I  admit,  belongs  necessarily 
to  the  subject  matter  of  the  two  verses  I  have  select- 
ed from  Matthew ;  it  is  incidental  or  collateral  in- 
struction. Still  it  is,  as  I  maintain,  Bible  instruc- 
tion ;  and  may  be  made,  one  portion  of  it  or  another, 
to  attract  attention  and  afford  profit.     I  would,  it  is 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  133 

true,  teach  nothing  of  geography  or  history  but  what 
every  child  that  reads  the  Bible  ought  to  know,  and 
nothing  of  biography,  or  manners  and  customs,  that 
would  not  be  likely  to  give  rise  to  useful  moral  re- 
flections. But  I  would  not  hesitate  to  teach,  even 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  that  which  does  have  such  a 
tendency ;  and  I  should  consider  myself  sustained 
too  in  doing  so. 

Here,  in  connection  with  the  geography  of  Beth- 
lehem, and  of  the  province  of  Judea  in  which  it  is 
situated,  I  would  speak  of  Jerusalem  as  the  capi- 
tal of  Judea ;  of  the  situation  of  Bethlehem  with 
respect  to  it ;  of  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  southeast  -,  of 
Hebron  to  the  south,  &c. 

But  here,  also,  should  it  be  necessary,  in  order  to 
arrest  attention,  might  come  in  some  account  of 
"  Herod  the  king."  For  Jesus,  we  are  told,  was 
born  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king.  I  should  in- 
deed prefer,  as  a  general  rule,  to  have  in  view  a 
single  great  point  in  each  lesson,  to  which  I  would 
if  possible  direct  attention  ;  and  only  branch  out  upon 
other  subjects  when  it  was  indispensably  necessary 
to  do  so  in  order  to  procure  attention.  Thus,  in  the 
lesson  before  us,  I  would  prefer  to  make  geography 
— that  of  Palestine  and  the  adjacent  countries,  es- 
pecially the  east  here  spoken  of — the  main  subject, 
though  in  another  lesson,  say  the  parable  of  the 
sower,  I  would  make  manners  and  customs  the  chief 

12 


134  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

thing ;  and  in  another,  as  the  prodigal,  I  would 
dwell  on  moral  character,  and  the  dangers  to  which 
the  young  are  subjected  of  being  ruined  on  leaving 
the  paternal  roof,  by  falling  into  bad  company,  &c. 

If,  however,  a  teacher  is  at  a  loss  for  geographi- 
cal thoughts  in  the  lesson  before  us,  he  may  still 
find  something  to  do.  He  may,  as  I  have  said,  talk 
about  Herod  the  king.  The  king  of  what  1  might 
be  asked.  And  what  do  you  know  about  him  1 
Was  he  a  good,  or  a  bad  king  ?  Why  do  you  think 
so? 

Again,  the  second  verse  tells  us  that  wise  men 
came  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem.  Now  the  question 
may  be  put — perhaps  without  recurring  to  the  map, 
if  the  latter  has  been  well  explained  before — What 
countries  lay  east  of  Palestine — who  these  wise  men 
were,  or  may  have  been,  &c. 

Here  would  be  room,  no  doubt,  for  a  great  deal 
of  instruction  from  the  teacher,  in  regard  to  the  con- 
dition of  arts,  sciences,  and  religion,  in  the  countries 
around  Palestine — and  they  should  be  shown  that 
there  were  wise  men  even  if  there  were  no  magi,  in 
Egypt,  no  less  than  in  Arabia,  Chaldea,  or  Persia. 

Conversation  might  be  had  on  the  star  in  the 
east,  or  rather  the  star  which  was  seen  by  the  wise 
men  Jrom  the  east ;  for  it  is  by  no  means  likely 
that  they  went  several  hundred  miles  in  an  opposite 
direction  to  that  in  which  they  saw  the  star  ;  besides, 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  135 

it  was  evidently  seen  westward  at  the  time  of  their 
arrival  in  Judea. 

Further  explanations  of  the  origin  of  the  word 
Jews  might  occur  in  connection  with  the  question. 
Where  is  he  who  is  born  king  of  the  Jews  ?  as  well 
as  much  conversation  about  the  king  of  the  Jews 
himself.  If  Herod  was  already  the  king,  how  could 
a  person,  not  belonging  to  his  family — not  of  the 
royal  line — be  horn  king.  The  word  worship  might 
also  suggest  a  fund  of  interesting  conversation. 

I  am  well  assured  that  as  a  general  thing  this 
form  of  Sabbath  school  instruction — or  as  it  might 
be  called,  the  topic  system — is  the  best  which  can 
possibly  be  devised.  Other  excellent  systems  there 
may  be,  I  know ;  but  this  is  certainly  the  more  ex- 
cellent, at  least  in  the  beginning. 

There  is  but  one  serious  difficulty  about  the  mat- 
ter ;  which  is  the  supposed  incompetency  of  teach- 
ers ;  I  mean  an  incompetency  supposed  by  them- 
selves. Many  who  can  sit  and  hear  a  class  of  pupils 
recite  a  number  of  verses  from  the  Bible,  or  a  hymn- 
book,  or  perhaps  several  chapters,  or  ask  the  ques- 
tions in  a  question  book  and  hear  the  pupils'  replies, 
will  shrink  from  the  idea  of  teaching  in  the  way  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking.  They  do  not  them- 
selves understand  the  geography  of  Palestine  they 
say ;  and  how  can  they  teach  it  to  their  children  1 


136  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Besides,  they  have  not  time  to  devote  to  the  work  of 
making  the  necessary  preparation. 

But  a  Bible  dictionary  certainly  costs  but  little; 
and  a  great  deal  may  be  learned  by  any  person  of 
good  sense,  in  but  a  single  hour,  with  the  dictionary 
in  one  hand  and  a  Bible  in  the  other.  Take  the 
very  lesson,  for  example,  to  which  I  have  been  di- 
recting your  attention.  Every  one  can  find  an  ac- 
count of  Bethlehem  in  it — its  distance  from  Jerusa- 
lem— the  direction  in  which  it  lay  from  that  place. 
Then  the  fact  that  it  lay  six  miles  south  of  Jerusalem 
might  give  occasion  to  learn  something  of  Jerusa- 
lem. And  how  long  would  it  take  to  acquire  many 
facts  in  regard  to  this  city  ?  Or  if  a  teacher  should 
say  that  he  could  retain,  till  he  should  meet  his  class, 
but  a  very  little  of  what  he  might  learn  in  one  short 
hour,  then  let  him  study  what  he  can,  retain  what 
he  can,  relate  what  he  can,  and  read  over  the  rest. 
And  finally,  if  the  pupils  are  not  old  enough  to 
understand  what  is  read,  he  can  paraphrase,  or  ex- 
plain it  to  them.  It  may  justly  be  questioned 
whether  a  teacher  who  cannot  give  one  hour  of  in- 
dividual attention  to  a  lesson,  is  fit  to  conduct  a 
Sabbath  school  class  ;  but  he  who  has  but  one  hour, 
and  has  common  sense,  ought  to  be  able  to  collect 
facts  enough  in  connection  with  the  two  verses  of 
Matthew  which  I  have  mentioned,  to  keep  up  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  137 

interest  of  his  class  as  long  as  their  interest  ought 
to  be  kept  up,  at  one  time.* 

I  wish  to  have  a  child  so  instructed  that  when 
he  reads  about  Jesus,  as  being  born  in  Bethlehem 
of  Judea,  he  may  be  able  to  make  it  a  reality. 
This  he  will  hardly  do,  however,  in  the  way  in 
which  religious  instruction  is  now  usually  conducted. 
All  will  be  a  blank  to  him  or  nearly  so  ;  or  he  will 
at  best  have  about  the  same  feelings  in  relation  to 
Bethlehem,  or  Jerusalem,  or  Judea,  which  he  has  in 
regard  to  the  places  mentioned  in  the  story  of  Sind- 
bad  the  Sailor  or  the  travels  of  Gulliver.  It  will  at 
best  be  a  sort  of  fairy  land  to  him,  rather  than  real 
terra  frma.  But  only  give  a  child  the  kind  of  in- 
struction at  which  I  have  hinted,  and  he  will  have 
ideas  in  his  mind. 

Let  him  then  read  about  Bethlehem  of  Judea, 
and  what  will  be  his  thoughts  ?  At  the  word  Beth- 
lehem he  thinks  of  a  village  or  city  among  the  hills 
of  Southern  Palestine — a  hilly  country  throughout 
— having  Jerusalem,  a  very  large  city,  but  a  little 
way  to  the  north,  the  Dead  Sea  to  the  east,  &c. 
Bethlehem,  its  churches  and  other  buildings,  its  hills 
and  valleys,,  its  ancient  but  distinguished  inhabit- 


*  I  might  allude  here  to  the  practice  of  some  teachers  of 
taking  written  notes  with  them  to  the  Sabbath  school  room. 
Not  prolonged  ones,  but  only  a  single  word  to  remind  them 
of  the  topics,  collateral  or  otherwise,  to  which  the}--  wish  to 
refer.  1  mean  memoranda,  however,  rather  than  notes, 

12* 


138  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

ants,  Jacob,  Ruth,  Boaz,  Jesse  and  David — Jerusa- 
lem with  its  walls  and  spires  and  churches  and 
mosques,  the  Mount  of  Olivet,  the  Dead  Sea  skirt- 
ing the  horizon  all  along  the  east  and  southeast, 
and  a  great  many  other  things — will  all  be  before 
his  mind's  eye  and  will  call  up  feelings-  I  may  say 
pleasures,  too — which  to  other  readers  are  most  evi- 
dently unknown. 

Thus  much  for  the  'pleasure  of  having  ideas  in 
one's  mind,  when  Vve  read  and  hear.  But  it  should 
be  remembered  that  there  is  profit  in  it  too,  if  life 
itself  is  profitable.  For  it  is  not  so  much  the  number  of 
hours  that  we  are  actually  awake,  or  even  that  we 
breathe,  which  determines  the  length  of  our  lives, 
as  the  number  of  ideas  we  have.  If  a  person  has 
three  times,  or  five  times,  or  ten  times  as  many 
thoughts  or  ideas  in  his  mind,  during  a  life  of  seventy 
years,  than  another  person  of  the  same  years,  and  if 
those  ideas  are  equally  just  and  vigorous,  then  I 
cannot  see  why  the  former  individual  does  not,  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  live  three  or  five  or  ten 
times  as  long  as  the  latter.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Now 
there  is  all  the  difference  which  I  have  here  repre- 
sented, among  mankind  in  respect  of  thought  -and 
ideas  ;  and  perhaps  I  should  say,  a  great  deal  more. 

I  grant  indeed  that  it  is  not  always  they  who 
think  most  rapidly,  who  think  best.  Vigor  of 
thought  is  sometimes  diminished  in  proportion  to  its 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  139 

rapid  flight.  I  have  seen  individuals,  the  speed  of 
^vhose  thoughts  was  as  the  hghtning  ;  and  yet  their 
ideas  were  seldom  good  for  any  thing — they  were 
none  of  them,  at  any  rate,  strong  and  manly.  But 
then,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  true  that  strength 
of  thought  is  in  proportion  to  slowness.  There  are 
individuals  who  think  rapidly  and  yet  think  justly. 
Some  of  the  best  and  most  vigorous  thinkers  I  have 
ever  known  thought  at  least  ten  times  as  much  in 
a  day  as  their  slower  thinking  neighbors  ;  and  thus, 
as  I  maintain,  lived  ten  times  as  long  in  the  same 
number  of  years  or  days.  If  they  were  Christians, 
moreover,  they  were  as  the  natural  result  ten  times 
better  Chiistians,  at  least  so  far  as  personal  enjoy- 
ment of  their  religion  was  concerned. 

If  it  is  highly  desirable  that  when  we  take  up  a 
newspaper  or  a  book  to  read,  or  a  pen  to  write,  or 
sit  down  to  converse  with  our  friends,  we  should 
have  ideas  in  our  heads  j  it  is  particularly  important 
that  when  we  sit  down  to  read  or  think  on  sacred 
things,  we  should  not  be,  as  too  many  are,  almost 
destitute  of  ideas  through  the  w^hole  exercise.  There 
may  be  silent  worship,  as  with  the  Quakers,  and  it 
may  have  its  uses ;  but  it  is  the  silence  of  the  tongue 
merely,  and  not  vacuity  of  mind  which  is  useful  to 
any  ;  for  God  will  never  accept  of  mental  unfruit- 
fulness,  where  he  has  given  us  the  means  of  culti- 
vation, and  a  proper  soil  to  cultivate. 


140  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

But  especially  is  it  desirable  to  think  with  activ- 
ity and  energy  when  we  read  the  Bible ;  and  this 
is  one  reason  why  I  would  have  every  one,  as 
soon  as  he  is  old  enough,  to  understand  geography, 
biography,  history,  chronology,  manners  and  cus- 
toms, &c.  I  would  have  every  word,  especially 
every  important  word,  suggest  ideas.  And  not 
mere  simple  ideas,  either ;  but  whole  clusters  of 
ideas ;  and  this  with  a  most  surprising  rapidity. 
Why  there  is  as  much  difference  between  the  state 
of  mind  of  two  individuals,  who  might  read  that 
Jesus  w^as  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea,  one  of  whom 
should  be  famihar  wuth  sacred  geography,  and  the 
other  a  stranger  to  it,  as  there  is  between  the  state 
of  mind  of  two  persons  in  Boston,  one  of  whom 
stands  on  Beacon-street  and  surveys  the  common, 
and  the  other,  having  ascended  to  the  top  of  the 
State-house,  surveys  the  whole  city,  and  its  fourteen 
or  fifteen  surrounding  towns  and  villages. 

§  m.    STUDY    OF    BIOGRAPHY. 

Lesson   on    the  Transfiguration   of    Christ. — Biography   of 
Moses.— That  of  Elias  or  Elijah.— That  of  Eiisha. 

But  I  must  pursue  this  subject  a  little  farther  by 
remarking  on  another  passage  of  Scripture,  involv- 
ing more  of  biography.  For  this  purpose  I  have 
selected  the  first  three  verses  of  the  seventeenth 
chapter  of  Matthew,  embracing  an  account  of  what 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  141 

is  usually  called  the  transfiguration  of  Christ.  The 
teacher  of  a  Sabbath  school  class,  where  these  three 
verses  were  the  lesson  of  the  day,  might  first  Tead 
them  to  his  class,  as  follows  : 

"  And  after  six  days  Jesus  taketh  Peter,  James, 
and  John  his  brother,  and  bringeth  them  up  into  a 
high  mountain  apart,  and  was  transfigured  before 
them  :  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  rai- 
ment was  white  as  the  hght.  And,  behold,  there  ap- 
peared unto  them  Moses  and  Elias  talking  with  him." 
Now  although  these  verses  involve  a  little 
geography — as  they  naturally  excite  the  curiosity  of 
an  inquiring  mind  in  regard  to  the  "  high  mountain" 
spoken  of — yet  it  is  obvious  that  the  study  of  geog- 
raphy could  not,  or  at  least  should  not  be  made  the 
prominent  topic  of  this  particular  lesson.  Biogra- 
phy is  more  obviously  a  leading  topic  here  than 
geography  or  any  thing  else  ;  and  though  the  teach- 
er would  not  entirely  exclude  every  thing  else, 
especially  if  the  attention  of  the  pupil  could  not  be 
kept  up,  yet  he  would  certainly  do  well,  to  confine 
himself  principally  to  that  single  subject. 

He  might  say  to  his  class  :  Here  is  the  account 
of  the  Saviour's  going  up  into  a  mountain  and  several 
other  persons  with  him.  Do  you  know  how  many  ? 
What  were  their  names  ?  Do  you  know  whether 
they  were  strangers  to  the  Saviour,  or  acquaint- 
ances ?  Of  one  of  them  it  is  said, "  John  his  brother." 


142  THE  SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Whose  brother  is  meant?  Whose  sons  were  James 
and  John  ?  What  do  you  know  about  them  besides 
what  is  here  related  ?  What  do  you  know  of  Pe- 
ter ?  Whose  son  was  he  1  What  other  name  had 
he  besides  Peter  ?  W^hat  do  you  know  of  his  gen- 
eral character  ?  Was  it  this  same  Peter  who  denied 
the  Saviour  ?  What  other  wrong  thing  is  related 
of  him  besides  his  denial  of  the  Saviour  1  Had  Pe- 
ter any  family  ?  Do  you  know  where  his  family 
resided  ?  Had  James  and  John  families,  do  you 
think  7 

We  are  also  told  here  about  Moses  and  Elias. 
Was  not  Moses  dead  long  before  this  time  ?  How 
happened  it,  then,  that  he  was  here  ?  In  what  part  of 
the  Bible  do  we  learn  about  Moses  ?  In  what  par- 
ticular books  1  In  what  country  was  he  born  ? 
Where  did  he  die  ?  Whose  son  w^as  he  ?  Whom 
did  he  marry  1  What  were  the  names  of  his  chil- 
dren ?  How  was  he  related  to  Aaron  ?  How  to 
Miriam  ?  About  how  long  before  the  time  of 
Christ  did  Moses  live  1 

This  again,  it  will  be  said  by  many,  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  lesson,  and  so  at  first  view 
it  might  seem.  But  then  it  is  biography  and  truth 
— Bible  biography  and  truth.  It  is  what  all  chil- 
dren ought  to  know,  and  what  many  do  know,  at  least 
in  part.  And  this  is  a  good  reason  for  connecting 
it  with  the  lesson.     Some  of  the  questions  could  be 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  143 

readily  answered  by  almost  any  pupil  •  while  others 
would  have  to  be  answered  by  the  teacher  himself, 
who  could  enlarge  or  contract  his  range  of  remarks 
as  he  might  see  fit  on  the  occasion,  and  as  the  unex- 
pected and  often  unforeseen  and  curious  questions 
of  his  pupils  might  incline  him. 

But  we  have  not  yet  done  with  the  lesson. 
Who  was  Elias  7  he  would  ask, — a  question  which 
few,  if  any,  of  a  youthful  class  would  be  able  read- 
ily to  answer.  They  should  be  told  that  in  the  New 
Testament,  Elijah  the  prophet  is  called  Elias,  and 
examples  should  be  given.  Now  then,  the  teacher 
might  say,  what  do  you  know  of  Elias  or  Elijah  1 
And  in  order  to  find  out  this,  a  course  might  be  pur- 
sued in  relation  to  this  distinguished  individual  not  un- 
like that  which  was  pursued  in  a  preceding  para- 
graph in  relation  to  Moses.  The  story  of  Elijah, 
like  that  of  Moses,  might  be  more  or  less  extended ; 
and  as  that  of  Moses  may  be  made  to  draw  in  sketches 
of  other  characters,  so  that  of  Elijah  might  involve 
or  at  least  lead  to  that  of  Elisha. 

§.  IV.  BIOGRAPHY  IN  OLDER  CLASSES. 

Account    of  Philip   tlie  Evangelist.— Conversation  respect- 
ing hiim. 

For  a  larger  or  at  least  a  more  advanced  class, 
Bible  biography  might  be  taken  up  in  a  manner 
rather  more  difficult  or  at  least  more  philosophical. 


144  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

We  might  give  out,  for  example,  a  week  before- 
hand,* the  story  of  Phihp  the  EvangeUst,  requiring 
the  pupils  to  find  it  out  from  beginning  to  end,  or  at 
least  to  go  as  far  as  they  could.  And  when  begin- 
ning this  method  of  instruction,  one  might  help  them 
a  little  by  telling  them  in  which  chapters  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  they  must  seek  for  their  infor- 
mation. 

In  teaching  a  class  with  this  lesson  as  our  text 
or  starting  point,  I  would  first  inquire  if  any  of  them 
knew  whether  the  Philip  here  mentioned  was  the 
same  with  Philip  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Savior.  This  might  be  beyond  their  capacities,  but 
should  not  be  beyond  the  knowledge  of  the  teacher. 
Having  done  his  duty  in  this  respect,  he  might  pro- 
ceed in  a  manner  somewhat  like  the  following  : 

You  may  open  your  Bibles  to  the  sixth  chapter  of 
Acts,  at  the  5th  verse,  and  one  of  you  (specifying 
which)  may  read  it.  Here  is  the  first  account  of 
Philip.  Though  we  do  not  know  where  he  was 
born,  you  see  he  was  chosen  to  be  an  oflficer ;  do 
you  know  what  office  it  was  ?  Should  they  not  see 
the  connection  readily,  I  would  inform  them,  and 

*  I  ought  to  say  here  that  I  would  prefer  to  give  out  all 
lessons  a  week  beforehand,  even  when  they  were  as  simple 
as  ihe  two  preceding  ones.  Nor  would  I  wholly,  in  all  cases, 
reject  the  old  plan  of  commiiting  lo  naemory.  On  the  con- 
trar}-^,  I  think  that  when  the  lesson  was  short,  say  only  a  few 
verses,  and  these  connected,  1  would  have  it  committed  lo 
memory  by  all  the  pupils. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  145 

mention  at  the  same  time  the  duties,  in  those  days, 
of  a  deacon.  " 

Turn  now,  I  would  say,  to  the  eighth  chapter  of 
Acts  at  the  5th  verse.  Here  you  find  mention  of 
Philip  again.  What  is  it  here  said  that  Philip  did  *? 
It  is  said  he  went  down  to  the  city  of  Samaria — 
where  did  he  go  from  ?  This  is  ascertained,  with 
considerable  certainty,  by  consulting  the  first  verse 
of  this  chapter.  How  far  from  Jerusalem  was  Sa- 
maria ?  In  what  direction  ?  Why  then  was  it 
called  down,  since  we  almost  always  call  it  up  to- 
w^ards  the  north "?  Let  this  be  explained. — This 
course,  I  know,  involves  geographical  as  well  as 
biographical  instruction ;  but  in  a  large  class  I 
would  not  hesitate  to  bring  it  in,  even  where  it  was 
not  a  leading  topic. 

What  did  Philip  do  at  Samaria  1  With  what 
success  were  his  labors  attended  ?  What  cid  he  do 
besides  preach  ?  (See  verse  7  of  chap,  viii.)  Did 
he  do  any  thing  else  besides  preaching  and  casting 
out  unclean  spirits  ?  Who  else,  in  those  days, 
could  do  such  mighty  works  besides  Philip  ?  With 
what  sorcerer  did  Philip  have  an  adventure  at  Sa- 
maria ?  Did  the  sorcerer  appear  to  become  a  good 
man  1  Was  his  conversion  to  Christianity  real  or 
pretended  ?      Was  this  the  fault  of  Philip  ? 

Look  now  at  verse  25  of  the  same  chapter. 
Who   spake   to  Philip,    as  related   in   this  verse'? 

13 


146  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

What  did  the  angel  tell  him  to  do  ?  What  coun- 
tries or  places  lay  tow  aids  the  south  ?  To  'which 
of  them  did  Philip  go  on  this  occasion  ?  Whom 
did  he  fall  in  with  in  his  journey  ?  Did  he  overtake 
him,  or  did  hewiee^  him  rather?  Where  was  Ethio- 
pia ?  Is  the  country  called  by  this  name  now  ? 
Where  had  the  eunuch  been  1  Where  was  he 
going  ?  In  what  kind  of  vehicle  was  he  travelUng  1 
Did  Philip  ride  with  him?  What  happened  on 
their  journey  ?     What  became  of  the  eunuch  1 

Much  familiar  conversation  might  here  be  held 
between  the  teacher  and  his  pupils,  if  necessary  or 
desirable,  about  the  book  the  eunuch  was  reading 
— what  the  form  of  books  was  at  that  time — bab- 
tism — its  subjects — modes,  &c.  There  are  a  thou- 
sand streets  and  lanes — to  say  nothing  of  the  more 
unfrequented  by-paths — into  which  the  pupils  may 
be  led  a  little  way,  and  in  which  they  may  often 
travel  for  a  time,  with  much  pleasure  and  profit. 
And  let  me  say  again,  once  for  all,  that  this  by-the- 
way  instruction  is  often,  very  often,  the  most  per- 
manent. 

But  to  proceed.  I  have  asked  you  what  became 
of  the  eunuch  after  he  was  baptized  ;  now  what  be- 
came of  Philip  ?  Where  was  Azotus  ?  What  do 
you  know  of  Azotus?  What  other  distinguished 
cities  of  the  Philistines  were  there  in  those  days  ? 
Where  did  Philip  go  next,  after  he  was  at  Azotus  ? 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  147 

Which  way  was  Cesarea  from  Azotus  ?  About  how 
far  1  What  do  you  know  about  it  ?  Near  what 
sea  did  it  he?  In  vvhai  direction  from  Jerusalem  1 
About  how  far  ?  Was  it  down  or  up  from  Jerusa- 
lem? 

Is  this  the  last  account  we  have  of  Philip  the 
Evangelist  ?  As  it  is  not  probable  the  pupils  of  a 
class  will  know  any  thing  more  about  him,  they 
may  be  required  to  turn  to  the  8th  verse  of  chap. 
xxi.  of  the  same  book — The  Acts.  What  place  is 
here  mentioned  ?  Who  came  here  in  the  course  of 
his  travels  ?  Whose  house  is  it  said  he  came  to  ? 
Is  there  any  doubt  that  this  was  the  same  Philip 
who  was  left  there  in  a  former  part  of  our  lesson  ? 
Had  he  a  family  here  ?  What  is  said  of  some  mem- 
bers of  his  family  ?  What  reason  have  we  to  think 
he  resided  here  permanently?  What  became  of 
him  afterward  ? 

§    V.    MORAL    INSTRUCTION. 

Parable  of  the  prodigal  son.— How  to  draw  moral  reflections. 
— Advamaj^es  and  disadvantages  of  piinted  qiiesiiou 
books— Use  of  dictionaries  comiuentariesand  oliier  lielps. 

One  specimen  more,  of  this  sort  of  instruction  in 
the  Sabbath  school.  For  this  purpose  I  select  the 
parable  of  the  prodigal  son,  found  in  the  fifteenth 
chapter  of  the  gospel  according  to  Luke.  I  select 
this  lesson  because  it  gives  a  fine  opportunity,  in 
the  sequel,  for  touching  the  hearts  of  the  young. 


148  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

The  instruction  1  have  alluded  to,  thus  far,  though 
very  important,  is  preparatory,  rather  than  deserving 
of  any  other  name.  It  plays  round  the  head,  but 
does  not,  in  all  instances,  without  special  effort  by 
the  teacher,  reach  the  heart. 

I  would  begin  somewhat  as  before,  by  reading 
or  requiring  a  pupil  to  read,  the  first  two  or  three 
verses  of  the  parable  beginning  with  the  eleventh. 

"  And  he  said,  A  certain  man  had  two  sons  :  and 
the  younger  of  them  said  to  his  father,  Father,  give 
me  the  portion  of  goods  that  falleth  to  me.  And 
he  divided  unto  them  his  living.  And  not  many 
days  after,  the  younger  son  gathered  all  together, 
and  took  his  journey  into  a  far  country,  and  there 
wasted  his  substance  with  riotous  living." 

The  first  words  of  these  verses,  I  would  say,  are, 
"  And  he  said."  Now  who  said  ? — This  inquiry  I  would 
make  to  arrest  attention,  and  bring  the  young  mind 
to  the  subject,  that  every  pupil  nught  know  what 
he  was  about.  "  A  certain  man  had  two  sons,"  Is 
there  reason  for  believing  that  he  had  more  than 
two  ?  What  reason  have  you  for  believing  that  he 
had  no  more  1  Two  reasons  are  given  in  the  second 
verse  read  ;  but  so  unaccustomed  are  many  Sabbath 
school  pupils  to  think,  that  it  may  be  often  neces- 
sary to  point  them  out  to  them. 

''  And  the  younger  of  them  said  unto  his  father," 
&c.      The  younger  of  whom  ?     And  why  should 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  *  149 

he  be  so  much  more  forward  to  make  claims  of  this 
sort  than  the  elder  ? 

"  Father,  give  me  the  portion  of  goods,"  &c. 
Do  you  know  what  were  called good^ in  those  days'? 

"  Falleth  to  me."  How  could  they  fall  to  him  1 
What  is  meant  by  the  word  falleth  ? 

"  And  he  divided  unto  them  his  living."  Who 
divided,  &c.  1  To  whom  did  he  divide  ?  What  ivas 
his  living  ? 

"  And  not  many  days  after."  Here  I  would 
show  that  though  "many  days"  sometimes,  in  the 
Bible,  means  a  considerable  time — once  it  was  three 
years,  as  in  the  case  of  Shimei,  the  enemy  of  David 
— yet  that  the  phrase  "  7iot  many  days,"  used  here, 
means  a  very  few  days  only ;  perhaps  one  or  two 
weeks,  but  probably  not  so  much. 

"  The  younger  son  gathered  all  together." 
Gathered  all  what  together  ?  Here,  if  not  before, 
there  should  be  a  full  and  faithful  exposition  of  the 
meaning  of  the  word  goods,  at  the  time  of  this  par- 
able. Real  estate  should  be  shown  to  have  formed 
a  less  important  item  than  it  does  now  with  us  ; 
and  clothing  and  cattle  much  more  important  ones. 
Such  an  explanation  would  involve  much  in  regard 
to  customs,  manners,  &c. 

"  And  took  his  journey  into  a  far  country."   Now 
if  this  parable  was  founded  on  facts,  as  I  suppose 
most  of  the  Savior's  parables  were,  it  is  probable 
13* 


150  *        THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

that  this  father  and  his  family  resided  in  Palestine, 
either  in  the  province  of  Judea  or  that  of  Galilee. 
The  far  country  may  have  been  Arabia,  Egypt, 
Ethiopia,  Rome,  Greece,  Persia,  or  India  ;  but  more 
probably,  as  it  seems  to  me,  one  of  the  two  latter. 
A  few  hundred  miles,  however,  in  those  days,  was 
far  off;  so  that  it  is  quite  possible  he  "went  no  farther 
than  Egypt,  Syria,  or  Arabia. 

"  And  there  wasted  his  substance  with  riotous 
living."  What  was  his  substance  ?  Was  it  not 
his  own  goods  and  property  ?  What  was  riotous 
living  1 — Here  mention  to  the  pupils,  some  of  the 
forms  of  living  that  would  be  called  riotous ;  and 
ask  them  if  such  living^  was  right.  Would  it  be 
right  for  boys  who  remain  at  home  subject  to  their 
parents,  to  indvdge  in  riotous  living,  even  if  their 
parents  would  permit  it  ?  Why  not  ?  The  physical 
as  well  as  moral  consequences,  if  known,  might  be 
pointed  out  and  a  warning  voice  lifted  against  them. 

Now  do  you  suppose  this  young  man  went  away 
privately,  without  the  knowledge  of  his  father  or 
any  other  friends,  that  is,  did  he  rim  away  1  Why  do 
you  suppose  he  was  desirous  of  going  away  1  Was 
it  right  for  him  to  leave  the  paternal  roof  ?  Per- 
haps he  wished  to  see  distant  countries ;  was  there 
any  thing  wrong  in  this  ?  Perhaps  he  was  anxious 
to  pursue  some  other  employment,  and  his  father 
was  unwilling ;  would  it  be  right  to  wish  to  be 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  151 

away  on  that  account  ?  And  even  if  it  were  right 
for  a  youth  to  desire,  at  times,  to  go  away  from 
home,  is  it  ever  right,  in  any  circumstances,  to  go 
away  privately  ; — to  run  away  ? 

But  would  it  not  be  right  in  some  cases,  per- 
haps you  will  ask,  for  a  boy  to  run  away  ?  If  the 
father  was  intemperate,  and  the  boy  was  afraid  he 
would  take  his  life,  would  it  not  be  right  for  him  to 
run  away  ?  Or  if  his  father  was  to  attempt  to  com- 
pel him  to  steal,  or  lie,  or  swear,  all  w^hich  conduct 
he  knew  w^as  offensive  to  God,  might  he  not  go 
away  ?  Or  if  a  parent  or  master  were  working 
him  so  hard  that  he  knew  it  would  destroy  his  health 
— what  then  ?  Or  if  a  penurious  or  lazy  parent 
were  actually  starving  a  child  to  death,  might  he 
not,  then,  lawfully  leave  him  ? 

These  questions,  and  a  multitude  of  others  which 
might  naturally  be  raised  from  the  text,  would  give 
great  scope  for  conversation  with  pupils;  and  in 
most  cases,  would  not  fail  to  draw  them  into  it. 
Anecdotes  might  occur,  either  to  the  teacher  or  the 
pupils,  which  would  illustrate  the  subject,  and  serve 
to  remove  their  difficulties.  Those  who  have  never 
tried  this  method  of  teaching,  have  little  conception 
of  the  wide  range  which  a  discussion  will  sometimes 
take ;  or  of  the  interest  which  pupils  who  are  very 
young  will  sometimes  manifest  in  it. 


152  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

On  the  morality  of  going  away  from  home  pri- 
vately, or  running  away,  the  case  of  Dr.  Franklin 
might  be  adverted  to  -,  who,  it  is  well  known,  became 
great  and  distinguished,  though  a  runaway.  Can 
it  be  that  so  great  and  good  a  man  as  Franklin,  it 
will  be  asked — one  who  seems  to  have  been  so  sin- 
gularly favored  by  Divine  Providence — did  wrong  in 
running  away  from  his  parents'? 

Here  again  a  teacher  would  have  a  fine  opportu- 
nity for  instilling  lessons  of  morality  into  the  minds  of 
his  pupils.  He  would  endeavor  to  show  them  that  the 
success  of  an  individual  does  not  always  prove  that 
he  is  right  in  his  course.  Dr.  Franklin  was  great, 
notwithstanding,  or  in  spite  of  his  faults — for  faults 
he  certainly  had — but  it  is  a  question  with  many 
whether,  though  great,  he  was  a  very  good  man. 
Suppose  he  ivas  a  good  man,  however ;  suppose  this 
could  be  shown,  I  mean,  it  would  not  prove  that 
every  thing  which  he  did  in  early  life,  long  before 
he  became  a  good  man,  was  right. 

I  suppose,  however,  that  whether  right  or  wrong, 
the  case  of  Franklin,  though  he  was  a  successful 
young  man  and  finally  rose  to  eminence,  is  but  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule.  This  rule  is,  that 
those  who  run  away  turn  out  ill ;  and  if  a  proper 
examination  into  the  subject  could  be  made,  it  would 
probably  appear,  that  for  one  boy  who  runs  away 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  153 

from  parents  and  masters,  and  yet  does  well  after- 
ward, a  hundred,  at  least,  if  not  a  thousand  can  be 
found,  who  are  thereby  ruined. 

One  thing  more  might  be  profitably  done  here, 
by  an  ingenious  teacher,  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  facts.  He  might  show  his  pupils  how  such 
stories  as  Gulliver's  Travels,  Sindbad  the  Sailor, 
Baron  Trenck,  and  Robinson  Crusoe,  tend  to  make 
boys  uneasy  with  their  home  ;  and  sometimes  even 
cause  them  to  run  away.  Not  many  years  ago,  some 
boys  in  Dorchester,  in  this  state,  having  their  heads 
full  of  the  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  actually  fitted 
themselves  out  for  a  residence  on  the  island  of  Nan- 
tucket ;  and  ran  away  from  their  parents,  in  ^der 
to  go  there.  They  were,  however,  overtaken  in  the 
woods  before  they  arrived  at  their  place  of  destina- 
tion, and  carried  home  again.  I  believe  that  fic- 
titious writings  generally  have  a  tendency  to  unset- 
tle the  youthful  mind  in  the  case  of  both  sexes  ;  and 
a  teacher  who  believed  thus  might  take  this  oppor- 
tunity of  expressing  the  belief,  especially  to  older 
pupils.  For  my  own  part,  I  never  knew  a  boy  or 
girl  who  loved  home  or  church  or  school  the  better 
for  reading  novels  and  romances;  but  a  great  many 
who  evidently  loved  home  and  school  and  parents 
and  other  friends  the  less  for  it. 

But  to  our  lesson  again,  from  which  I  may  seem 
to  some  ot  my  readers  to  have  strayed  almost  as  far 


154  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

as  our  young  Robinsons  did  from  Dorchester.  The 
next  three  verses  are  as  follows : 

"  And  when  he  had  spent  all,  there  arose  a 
mighty  famine  in  that  land,  and  he  began  to  be  in 
want.  And  he  went  and  joined  himself  to  a  citizen 
of  that  country  ;  and  he  sent  him  into  his  fields  to 
feed  sw-ine.  And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly 
with  the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat ;  and  no  man 
gave  unto  him." 

"  And  when  he  had  spent  all,"  &c.  "When  who 
had  spent  all  ?     "What  is  meant  hy  all? 

Well,  when  he  had  spent  all,  there  arose  a  mighty 
famine  in  that  land,  and  he  began  to  be  in  want. 
\Vh%  is  a  famine  ?  Do  you  know  what  countries 
in  the  world  are  most  subject  to  famine  1  Was  this 
famine,  from  which  the  young  prodigal  suffered, 
miraculous ;  or  was  it  apparently  an  ordinary  oc- 
currence ?  Here  the  pupils  of  most  Sabbath  school 
classes  will  need  a  good  deal  of  instruction-  I  mean 
in  connection  with  the  last  two  questions — and  hap- 
.py  is  the  teacher  who  is  prepared  to  give  it. 

"  And  he  w^ent  and  joined  himself  to  a  citizen  of 
that  country."  What  is  meant  by  '•  he  went  and 
joined  himself?"  Did  they  keep  their  swine  in 
droves  then,  in  eastern  countries  1  And  were  they 
under  the  care  of  a  keeper  as  sheep  and  cattle  were  ? 
W^as  the  employment  of  keeping  swine  a  respectable 
one  ?     Here  instruction  should  be  given  in  regard  to 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  155 

the  methods  of  keeping  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  &c.,  in 
eastern  countries,  and  something  should  be  said  of 
the  respectability  or  want  of  respectability  of  the 
employment.  Mention  may  be  made  in  particular, 
of  the  shepherds  of  Bible  times,  from  the  days  of 
Moses  down  to  the  time  of  Christ ;  together  with  the 
kind  of  dangers  to  which  sheep  were  exposed  which 
rendered  shepherds  necessary.  This  text  would,  or  at 
least  might  lead  to  much  conversation  on  natural 
history. 

"  And  he  would  fain  have  filled,"  &c.  What 
is  the  meaning  of  would  fain  1  Of  whom  is  it  said 
he  would  Juin?  Would  fain  what  ?  Husks  of  what  ? 
They  could  not  have  been  the  husks  of  Indian  corn, 
as  it  was  not  at  that  time  known  ;  at  least  in  that 
country.  They  should  be  told,  here,  what  the  word 
corn  means  in  the  Bible  ;  and  also  what  was  proba- 
bly meant  by  husks,  in  this  place,  viz.,  the  skins, 
shells,  rinds,  &c.  of  fruits. 

It  is  said  here,  that  he  would  fain,  or  gladly,  have 
satisfied  the  cravings  of  his  stomach  with  coarse 
things,  such  as  were  considered  fit  only  for  swine, 
"but  no  man  gave  unto  him."  Where  were  his 
friends  who  helped  him  to  spend  his  money  in  the 
course  of  his  riotous  living  ?  Were  they  all  dead 
but  he  1  For  riotous  people  seldom  live  as  long  as 
other  people.  Or  was  it  with  them  as  it  usually  is 
with  associates  in  sin  and  crime,  that  when  one  of 


156  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

the  company  has  no  longer  any  money,  they  are 
quite  willing  to  turn  him  off  and  take  no  farther 
notice  of  him  ?  What,  not  so  much  as  to  give  him 
a  few  rinds,  or  skins,  or  husks  ?  Oh  no ;  he  might 
take  care  of  himself  for  what  they  cared,  now  that 
he  had  no  money.  And  worse  than  all  this,  perhaps 
they  were  among  the  very  first  to  taunt  him  on 
account  of  his  distress  and  poverty,  though  they  were 
conscious  that  they  were  among  the  causes  of  pro- 
ducing it. 

What  a  fine  opportunity  would  this  lesson  afford, 
just  at  this  point,  for  presenting — and  that  too  in  a 
most  forcible  manner — the  evils  of  vice !  A  Sab- 
bath school  teacher  must  be  exceedingly  uninformed 
in  his  Bible  or  unacquainted  with  human  nature,  or 
cold-hearted,  who  would  let  slip,  without  the  most 
urgent  necessity,  such  a  golden  opportunity  for  en- 
deavoring to  make  serious  impressions. 

However,  were  I  the  teacher,  I  would  not,  as  yet, 
make  too  many  inferences  which  were  strictly  re- 
ligious. I  would  reserve  this  part  of  the  application 
— at  least  a  good  share  of  it — till  I  came  to  another 
portion  of  the  parable.  My  object  would  be,  frst, 
to  interest  them ;  secondly,  to  prepare  their  minds, 
and  make  the  appeal  to  the  conscience,  at  once,  just 
before  closing  the  lesson. 

But  now  follows  a  verse  more  curious  than  any 
of  the  rest,  if  not  more  instructive.     "  And  when  he 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  157 

came  to  himself,  he  said,  How  many  hired  servants 
of  my  father's  have  bread  enough  and  to  spare,  and 
I  })erish  with  hunger  !" 

"  And  w^hen  he  came  to  himself."  What  can 
this  mean  ?  Had  he  not  been  himself  all  the  while  ? 
Had  he  been  deranged  ?  Had  he  been  confined  or 
imprisoned  ?  Came  to  himself?  A  most  singular 
expression  indeed,  children ;  can  any  of  you  think 
what  it  means  ? 

It  is  hardly  possible  for  a  class  whose  attention 
had  been  secured  thus  far,  not  to  take  notice  of  this 
singular  expression,  and  be  led  to  think  about  it. 
And  here,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  the  place  to  lay  hold 
of  their  consciences.  They  may  be  told — what  is 
strictly  true — that  they  who  live  in  this  world  for 
the  mere  purpose  of  gratifying  themselves,  to  eat 
and  drink  and  swim  in  pleasure,  regardless  of  the 
future,  may  justly  be  said — as  is  intimated  of  the 
young  man  in  the  parable — not  to  be  themselves  ; 
or  as  we  should  say,  to  be  crazy.  They  are  not 
what  God  made  them  to  be.  Nothing  appears  to 
them  as  it  truly  is.  Vice  does  not  appear  truly 
hateful ;  nor  does  virtue  appear  truly  lovely. 
There  may  be  something  respectable  and  even  de- 
sirable to  them  in  piety  or  Christian  character;  or 
rather  they  may  respect  it  because  they  have  a  sort 
of  half  belief  that  after  all  it  is  the  right  sort  of 
character.     And  yet  they  have  no  relish  for  it ;  nor 

14 


158  THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 

can  they  see  any  beauty  in  it,  that  they  should  ear- 
nestly seek  it. 

And  herein,  I  would  say  to  a  class,  consists  that 
depravity  of  the  human  heart,  of  which  the  Bible 
so  often  speaks,  and  of  which  preachers  sometimes 
tell  us ; — this  loving  an  object  so  much  which  God 
would  not  have  us  love ;  and  hating  those  things 
which  he  would  have  us  prefer  and  pursue.  "  I 
will  tell  you  just  how  it  happens,"  I  would  say, "  that 
we  love  what  we  should  hate,  and  hate  what  we 
should  love ;  and  are  not  ourselves  any  more  than 
the  young  prodigal  was.  It  comes  just  as  his  dis- 
positions and  tastes  came.  We  have  run  away 
from  our  father's  house,  as  he  did ;  and  instead  of 
living  as  we  might  have  done,  and  ought  to  have 
done,  under  his  mild  and  wholesome  and  just  govern- 
ment, have  chosen  to  pursue  our  own  way ;  and 
have  even  supposed  or  seemed  to  suppose  our  father 
did  not  see  us,  or  know  or  care  what  we  were  doing. 
I  am  now  speaking,  you  know,  of  our  Father  in 
heaven  and  not  of  our  earthly  fathers;  fori  suppose 
that  few  indeed  if  any  of  you  would  have  the  hardi- 
hood or  the  folly  to  treat  your  earthly  as  you  often 
do  your  Heavenly  Father." 

And  here — precisely  at  this  point — while  the 
children  are  interested  and  affected,  I  would  have  a 
teacher  press,  for  a  little  time  longer,  the  analogy 
between  the  sin  of  this  young  prodigal  and  the  sin 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  159 

of  mankind  in  general.  No  parable  in  the  Bible  is 
better  fitted  for  this  purpose — not  one.  If,  however, 
a  teacher  have  failed  to  prepare  the  minds  of  his  pu- 
pils to  receive  it,  better  defer  the  moral  a  little 
longer,  and  proceed  with  the  exposition  of  the  chap- 
ter still  farther.  Better  defer  to  a  more  "  conven- 
ient season,"  than  cast  your  pearls  before  swine, 
when  it  is  known  beforehand  they  will  only  turn 
again  and  rend  you. 

"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will  say 
to  him.  Father  I  have  sinned  against  Heaven  and 
before  thee,  and  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called 
thy  son ;  make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  servants. 
And  he  arose  and  came  to  his  father." 

Now,  children,  why  did  this  young  man  go  to 
his  father  ?  Was  it  because  he  had  no  food  and  no 
clothes  where  he  was,  and  could  not  procure  any  1 
Was  there  nothing  else  that  moved  him  but  his  own 
suffering  ?  Did  he  not  feel  that  he  had  wronged 
somebody  ?  But  whom  had  he  wronged  ?  His  fa- 
ther, do  you  say  1  His  father  and  mother — if  a 
mother  he  had  ?  His  brothers  and  sisters  ?  How 
had  he  wronged  them  ? 

Here  again  opens  a  fine  field  for  the  discussion 
of  the  duties  which  children  owe  to  parents  and  to 
one  another,  and  which  cannot  be  so  well  fulfilled  in 
a  foreign  land,  as  under  the  paternal  roof — duties 
which  it  is  easy  to  see  were  left,  in  the  case  of  the 


160  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

young  prodigal,  wholly  unperformed.  Here,  again, 
Ave  may  advert  to  the  case  of  Franklin.  Though 
he  succeeded  in  building  up  his  own  reputation  and 
fortune  by  going  away  from  home,  could  he  at  the 
same  time  perform  the  duties  he  owed  to  his  parents 
and  brothers  and  sisters  1  And  if  some  of  the  latter 
did  not  prove  to  be  as  good  men  and  women  as 
they  might  have  been,  had  Franklin  nothing  to  do 
in  the  way  of  reflecting  that  if  he  had  remained  at 
home  he  might  perhaps  have  made  them  better  1 

But  you  will  perhaps  say,  Children  are  obliged 
to  go  away  from  home  at  times.  How  obliged  ? 
Do  the  parents  require  it,  or  think  it  best  ?  In 
that  case,  of  course,  they  are  released  from  obliga- 
tions which  would  otherwise  devolve  upon  them ; 
fot  it  is  a  primary  rule  that  they  must  obey  their 
parents.  But  this  is  not  the  kind  of  going  away 
that  I  am  now  talking  about ;  it  is  a  very  different 
thing. 

The  young  man  said,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to 
iny  father."  Had  his  sole  object  been  to  get  rid 
of  suffering — had  there  been  no  sorrow  of  heart 
that  he  had  ever  left  his  father's  house  and  underta- 
ken to  act  for  himself — ungoverned  and  undirected 
— why  did  he  go  to  his  father  ?  Why  not  turn 
aside  into  some  other  country  which  was  not  affect- 
ed by  the  famine,  and  try  his  fortune  there  ? 

But  he  said  he  would  do  more  still.     He  would 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  161 

not  only  go  to  his  father — but  he  would  confess  to 
him  that  he  had  done  wrong.  He  would  tell  him 
that  he  had  sinned.  Ah  yes,  you  will  say ;  he  could 
say  so  to  gain  his  father's  favor — to  get  back  to  the 
old  place  in  his  affections,  and  secure  his  former 
advantages.  But  remember,  he  does  not  ask  this. 
He  does  not  ask  to  be  taken  in  as  a  son  again. 
No  such  thing.  "  Make  me  as  one  of  thy  hired  ser- 
vants," says  he.  This  is  all  he  dares  to  hope  for, 
and  all  he  deems  himself  worthy  of,  and  more  too. 
"  I  am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  507i,"  he 
says. 

There  was  yet  another  proof  that  he  had  come 
to  himself  and  saw  things  rightly,  in  that  he  ac- 
knowledged he  had  sinned,  not  only  against  his  fa- 
ther, but  against  Heaven.  Here,  too,  some  may 
say,  he  might  have  been  seeking  to  conciliate  his 
father  without  having  any  true  penitence  for  his 
faults.  It  might  indeed  be  so  ;  but  there  is  one 
thing  that  makes  it  appear  otherwise.  He  puts  his 
sin  against  God — against  Heaven — hefore  the  sin 
against  his  earthly  father.  I  have  sinned  against 
Heaven  and  before  thee,  is  his  language.  Now  a 
hypocrite,  who,  knowing  his  father  to  be  a  good 
man,  was  disposed  to  compliment  him  and  his  reli- 
gion would  be  likely  to  put  the  father  first.  He 
would  be  very  likely  to  say ;  I  have  sinned  against 

14* 


162  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

thee  and  against  Heaven.  Nor  would  a  hypo- 
crite be  quite  so  wilhng  to  become  a  servant  to  the 
family  as  he  seems  to  have  been.  Pride  would 
have  revolted  against  it. 

In  fact  the  whole  affair  looks  like  a  case  of  sin- 
cere penitence.  You  must  remember  that  he  was 
as  poor  in  regard  to  property,  as  he  could  be,  and 
no  doubt  very  ragged,  if  not  dirty.  He  was  also 
nearly  starved,  at  least  by  the  time  he  reached  his 
father,  and  perhaps  he  was  afflicted  with  disease, 
into  the  bargain.  What  hypocrite  would  have 
been  humble  enough  to  appear  before  his  father  in 
these  circumstances  ?  No,  he  w^as  a  true  penitent 
now,  I  am  quite  confident. 

But  he  "  arose  and  came  to  his  father."  When 
did  he  do  this  ?"  W'^as  it  in  a  day  or  two  or  a  week 
after  he  formed  the  resolution  ?  None  of  these,  as 
it  appears  to  me.  I  do  not  believe  he  delayed  a 
moment.  Indeed  the  Bible  narrative  would  seem 
to  imply  as  much  ;  though  it  does  not  positively 
say  so. 

And  mark  the  result.  "  When  he  was  yet  a 
great  way  off,  his  father  saw  him,  and  had  com- 
passion, and  lan  and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed 
him."  The  father,  somehow  or  other,  knew  his 
heart ;  and  without  waiting  for  the  son  to  come  to 
him  and  make  the  confession  which  he  knew  he 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  163 

was  ready  to  make,  he  met  him  a  great  way  off, 
and  received  him  with  every  possible  mark  of  affec- 
tion ;  and  even  spoke  kindly  to  him,  and  took  him 
into  the  midst  of  his  family. 

Here,  all  along,  the  parallel  between  sin  against 
an  earthly  father  and  a  heavenly  one  is  as  striking 
as  it  can  possibly  be  made,  and  so  are  the  results. 
How  much  can  be  done  in  a  single  lesson,  must  be 
left  for  the  teacher  to  decide  ;  he  being  governed,  as 
every  teacher  should  be,  by  the  age,  capacities,  dis- 
positions, &c.  of  his  pupils,  and  by  numerous  attend- 
ing circumstances. 

I  would  not  have  dwelt,  at  such  length,  on  the 
mode  of  Bible  teaching  which  I  prefer,  and  which  I 
am  confident  is  the  true  mode,  had  I  not  believed 
that  many  who  read  this  chapter,  not  only  teachers 
but  parents,  would  be  glad  of  a  pretty  full  and  free  de- 
velopment of  the  plan  whichi  prefer  and  propose,  and 
that  it  would  afford  to  some  of  them  important  hints. 
It  is  nature's  plan,  not  an  artificial  one  ;  it  is  that  of 
Pestalozzi  and  Socrates — yes,  more,  it  is  the  plan  of 
Jesus  Christ.  And  though  all  I  have  said,  especially 
in  connection  with  the  story  of  the  prodigal,  may 
not  be  quite  adapted  to  a  class  of  pupils  five  or  six 
years  old,  yet  it  is  so  to  some  of  the  elder  classes  of 
every  school.  The  p/an,  at  least,  is  adapted  to  all. 
In  filling  it  out,  every  teacher  will,  of  course,  be 


164  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

obliged  to  exercise  much  judgment.  It  is,  how- 
ever, not  a  little  surprising  to  see  how  much  better 
our  children,  even  our  little  children,  will  under- 
stand religious  truth  presented  in  this  way,  than 
when  presented  in  a  more  direct  manner. 

The  teacher  who  has  entered  deeply  into  the 
spirit  of  the  plan  here  recommended  will  need  no 
modern  question  book  for  himself  or  his  pupils. 
Neither  will  he  need  artificial  landmarks,  of  any 
sort.  Not  that  he  will  have  any  hostility  to  ques- 
tion books  for  his  own  guidance,  or  to  afford  him 
hints ;  but  he  will  not  wish  to  depend  on  them  or 
have  the  pupils ;  and  he  will  sometimes  for  the  mo- 
ment regard  them  as  an  incumbrance.  You  will 
say,  perhaps,  that  he  must  have  before  him  his  Bible 
Dictionary  and  his  maps,  which  are  quite  as  un- 
wieldy and  render  the  course  quite  as  artificial  as 
question  books  do.  But  this  is  not  exactly  so.  The 
jmpils  of  the  class,  during  the  exercise,  do  not  want 
any  dictionaries  or  books  of  reference — their  Bibles, 
perhaps,  excepted.  Indeed  it  is  better  that  they 
should  be  without  them.  And  the  teacher  who  is 
duly  prepared  for  the  exercise  will  not  need  them. 
He  will  indeed  have  studied  them  before  he  comes 
to  the  Sabbath  school  -,  but  he  will  have  no  time  to 
explore  them  after  he  gets  there. 

But  maps  are  needed,  it  will  be  said.     Yes  ;  and 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  165 

they  are  needed,  if  we  have  question  books.  A  sin- 
gle map,  however,  in  the  hands  of  the  teacher,  is 
sufficient.  Nor  are  these  needed  always.  In  such 
lessons  as  the  parable  of  the  prodigal,  though  the 
conversation  'might  turn  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
occasion  to  use  them,  they  are  hardly  desirable. 
Nor  are  they  needed  in  many  of  the  other  lessons, 
as  on  manners  and  customs,  and  pure  biography. 

It  is  said,  perhaps,  that  the  plan  I  propose  would 
require  more  study  than  the  former  plan  -  that  which 
involves  the  use  of  written  or  printed  questions.  I 
know  it  will ;  and  that  this,  after  all,  is  the  most 
substantial  objection  to  it.  People  in  general — and 
some  of  our  Sabbath  school  teachers  among  the  rest 
— dislike  to  think  much ;  and  the  question  book 
system  does  not  require  a  vast  deal  of  thought ; 
hardly  any  thing  but  a  little  parrot  work,*    Whereas 

*  Perhaps  I  have  not  done  full  justice,  here,  to  the  defend- 
ers ot  the  nse  of  qiiesiion  books.  Some  of  the  iitiore  intelli- 
gent of  them,  besides  nrjjins:  the  fact — and  I  admit  it  \q  be  a. 
fact — ih£i  most  of  onr  Sibbaih  school  teachers,  as  thev  now 
are.  ni-ed  question  books,  insisi  also  ihal  the  result  of  all  onr 
teachini^.  whether  we  u^p  question  books  or  nnt,  is  ;,b()iit  the 
same  thtnj^.  A  few  minds  ihey  say,  become  books  to  oilier 
minds;  and  even  the  veib^l  questions  of  the  superintendent 
or  the  teacher  b  come  in  effect  the  question  book  of  those 
who  are  instructed,  as  much  as  it'  it  were  printed  or  written. 

But  if  all  this  were  true — and  it  certainly  has  truth  in  it — 
there  is  one  argument  more,  not  ayfrinsi  question  books  as 
they  might  be  prepared,  but  against  all  which  I  have  seen. 
They  present  things  in  too  learned  a  manner.  It  is  not  that 
thev  do  not  analyze  the  Scripture  as  they  ouohi  for  some  of 
them  use  Loth  the  sympathetic  and  the  ana h  tic  methods;  and 
a  few  even  cairy  the  latter  very  far.     But  the  grand  objection 


166  THE  SABBATH    SCHOOL 

to  know  how  to  read  the  Bible,  or  teach  it,  as  it 
seems  to  me  it  ought  to  be  read  and  taught,  requires 
a  great  deal  of  attention  and  study. 

Every  thing  which  is  taught  in  these  days  in  our 
day  schools,  or  almost  every  thing,  is  illustrated  by 
anecdote,  or  maps,  or  charts,  or  diagrams ;  so  that 
they  who  will,  may  not  only  study  it,  nay  not  only 

is,  that  they  take  up  every  thinof  too  systematically — more  so 
than  the  JJivine  Author  of  the  Bible  ever  intended. 

A  set  of  questions  on  the  gospels,  lor  example,  designed 
even  for  young  children,  is  very  apt  to  begin  with  the  evi- 
dences of  Christianity,  the  early  promises  and  predictions 
concerning  the  Savior,  his  genealogies,  &c.  I  have  before 
me  at  this  moment  one  of  the  best  sets  of  questions  on  the 
gospels  I  have  ever  seen,  intended  for  mere  beginners  in  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  and  yet  many  of  its  lessons  contain  but 
very  few  thoughts  with  which  the  younger  of  our  Sabbath 
school  pupils  ought  to  have  any  thine:  to  do.  Only  one  of  the 
first  thirteen  lessons  (the  whole  number  is  fifty-two)  is  at  all 
fit  for  young  children  at  Sabbath  school.  The  first  fifteen  of 
them  are  on  the  following  topics,  and  in  the  following  order, 
viz.:  The  Bible;  Internal  Evidence;  Evidence  from  the 
Fulfilment  of  Prophecy  ;  Promises  and  Predictions  of  Christ; 
Types  of  the  Old  Testament;  Preface  (that  is  to  the  Gos- 
pels); The  Divinity  of  Christ;  Christ  the  true  Light; 
Chiist's  Incarnation,  Glory,  Fulness — John's  Testimony; 
The  Birth  of  John  Baptist  foretold;  The  Annunciation; 
Mary's  Visit  to  Elizabeth  ;  John's  Birth  and  Circumcision  — 
Zacharias'  Song;  The  Birth  of  Christ;  and  the  Genealo- 
gies of  Christ 

What  a  strange  mistake  has  the  writer  of  such  a  series 
of  questions  on  the  gospels  made  in  presenting  to  the  young, 
at  the  very  outset,  these  abstract  subjects !  They  should  be  at 
once  told,  as  I  think,  of  the  Savior — his  travels,  conversation, 
conduct,  parables,  and  miracles.  If  the  Holy  Spirit  intended 
the  books  of  the  Bible  should  be  read  in  course,  I  am  sure 
they  were  never  intended  to  be  studied  in  course — certainly 
roi  by  children.  I  hope  the  friends  of  Sabbath  schools  will 
erelong  discover  the  mistakes  they  are  making  in  regard  to 
modes  of  instruction,  and  return  to  the  more  simple  and 
natural  way,  even  if  the  apparent  progress  of  their  pupils 
should  be  less  than  before. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  167 

study  it,  and  in  a  parrot-like  way  recite  it,  but  also  if 
they  will,  understand  it,  and  have  a  vivid  picture  of 
it  before  the  mind.  Shall  every  thing  else  be  taught 
understandingly  but  the  Bible  1  Shall  every  thing 
be  rendered  interesting  to  the  young,  but  that  which 
should  be  most  so  ? 

The  teacher  who  has  drank  deeply  of  this  system, 
will  not  be  at  a  loss  how  to  spend  an  hour  on  almost 
any  lesson,  of  a  few  verses  only,  which  may  be  as- 
signed him  in  the  whole  Bible.  We  have  seen, 
already,  how  much  time  may  be  spent  on  some  two 
or  three  verses,  even  when  the  object  is  to  get  over 
the  ground  as  rapidly  as  possible.  But  suppose  a 
teacher  is  assigned  a  lesson  of  but  one  verse  in  the 
Bible,  and  is  required  to  spend  an  hour  on  it ;  and 
that  too  without  any  previous  notice,  not  so  much 
as  a  moment.  I  grant  that  he  will  do  the  subject 
and  himself  and  his  pupils  better  justice  the  more 
he  studies  it,  but  he  may  do  much  without  any  pre- 
vious study  of  that  particular  passage. 

I  do  not  mean,  however,  that  the  object  which 
I  have  stated,  can  be  accomplished  by  confining 
one's  self  to  the  particular  exposition  of  the  verses 
which  may  have  been  assigned  him,  but  by  the 
study  of  those,  and  by  study  and  conversation  on 
collateral  subjects  or  parallel  passages. 

Let  a  teacher  be  required,  without  any  previous 
notice,  to  mterest  a  school,  for  one  liour,  in  connec- 


168  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

tion  with  the  verse,  "  Jesus  wept ;"  one  of  the  short- 
est in  the  Bible.  The  conversation  will  naturally 
turn  on  the  cause  of  the  Savior's  weeping;  who  it 
was  that  was  dead  ;  the  manner  and  circumstances 
of  his  death  ;  the  family  to  which  he  belonged,  and 
their  history-  that  of  Lazarus,  Martha  and  Mary  ; 
where  Jesus  was  when  Lazarus  died  ;  whether  he 
w^ept  long  at  this  time,  or  whether  he  soon  resumed 
his  native  cheerfulness;  whether  he  often  wept; 
what  sort  of  a  man  he  was ;  his  probable  appear- 
ance externally ;  his  relatives,  friends,  &c.  It  is 
easy  to  see  that  no  thorough  Bible  student  could  be 
at  a  loss  for  collateral  topics;  for  they  are  almost 
endless.  And  when  I  say  no  thorough  Bible  stu- 
dent, I  do  not  mean  to  refer  to  the  mere  theological 
student,  that  is,  to  a  member  of  one  of  our  fashiona- 
ble seminaries.  I  mean  by  a  student,  one  who  stu- 
dies, whether  in  a  theological  seminary  or  out  of  it. 
Every  one  can  be  a  student,  and  a  thorough  student 
too,  if  he  will ;  especially  of  the  Bible. 

Or  suppose  the  lesson  were :  "  And  he  spake 
many  things  unto  them  in  parables,  saying,  Behold 
a  sower  went  forth  to  sow."  How  much  might  be 
said  in  a  Sabbath  school  class,  on  this  single,  short, 
and  appatently  uninteresting  verse!  Who  it  was 
that  spake;  to  whom  he  spake;  what  parables 
are  ;  what  behoM  means  ;  what  a  sower  is  ;  and,  by 
the  way,  what  was  sowed  in  Palestine,  with  a  num- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


169 


ber  of  other  things,  might  each  afFord  a  great  deal 
of  scope  for  free  conversation  ;  and  thct  too  which 
would  be  profitable. 

I  look  forward  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to 
the  hour,  when  we  shall  see  our  teachers  needing 
nothing  in  the  Sabbath  school  but  their  Bibles,  (and 
perhaps  their  pencil  and  paper,)  in  order  to  draw 
forth  treasures  for  the  young  mind  of  things  both 
new  and  old.  I  look  forwaid  to  the  gladsome  time 
when  the  Bible,  and  the  scenes  and  men  and  things 
of  the  Bible,  shall  be  solid  realities,  and  not  mere 
fiction  to  the  young  mind — when  children  shall  not 
study  their  Bibles  either  on  the  week-day  or  on  the 
Sabbath  because  they  musty  but  because  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  them,  because  they  love  to  do  it ;  and  would 
esteem  it  a  privation  were  it  forbidden  them. 

When  that  glad  day  shall  arrive,  then  will  the 
faithful  superintendent  and  teachers  in  our  Sabbath 
schools  be  seen  to  be — as  they  truly  are — public 
benefactors ;  and  they  will  deserve,  and  either  here 
or  in  the  world  of  spirits  will  receive,  a  rich  reward. 
Then  will  Sabbath  school  pupils  be  as  young  cedars, 
tall  and  green  and  flourishing,  in  the  house  of  our 
God,  and  pillars  cr  supporters  everywhere — as  they 
come  to  suitable  age— of  the  social  fabric.  Then 
will  the  Sabbath  school  aid  parents,  and  ministers,  in 
a  thousand  ways ;  and  then,  too,  will  the  latter  co- 
operate   with  the    efforts   of  the  Sabbath   school. 

15 


170  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

Then  will  the  wilderness  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the 
rose.  Not  only  will  the  family  and  the  church  be 
happier,  but  every  part  and  parcel  of  the  whole 
social  system. 


CHAPTER   V. 

OTHER  METHODS  OF  BIBLE  STUDY. 
§  I.    BIOGRAPHY   OF    THE    BIBLE. 

General  structure  and  character  of  the  Bible. — Advantages 
of  studying  divine  truth  in  this  form. — 1.  Negative  ad- 
vantages.— 2.  Positive  advantages. — 3.  Elevates  and  im- 
proves the  conscience. — 4.  Assists  us  by  the  example. 

It  may  have  struck  some  readers  of  the  Bible  aa 
a  little  singular,  that  so  much  of  this  divine  book 
should  be  taken  up  with  the  lives  and  actions  of  dis- 
tinguished men.  What,  it  may  be  said,  are  the 
books  of  Judges,  Ruth,  the  two  books  of  Samuel, 
two  of  Kings,  two  of  Chronicles,  Esther,  Daniel, 
Jonah,  the  four  Gospels  and  the  Acts — to  say  no- 
thing of  the  five  books  of  Moses,  and  the  books  of 
Ezra,  Joshua,  Nehemiah,  Job,  &c.— but  a  collection 
of  biography  and  history,  especially  the  former  ?  A 
distinguished  Christian  poet  has  said  that  "  half  the 
Bible  is  praise;"  but  I  might  also  say,  at  least 
with  the  poet's  license,  that  half  the  Bible  is  biog- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  171 

raphy.  Not  in  the  style  of  modern  books  of  biog- 
raphy to  be  sure,  where  every  individual  is  made  a 
faultless  or  perfect  hero  ;  but  oftener  in  fragments, 
and  in  a  manner  too  which  exhibits  faults  as  well 
as  excellencies ;  for  it  exhibits  man  as  he  truly  is, 
and  not  as  his  favorites  delight  to  render  him.  The 
Bible  biographers,  in  their  statements,  intend  to 
glorify  God  ;  and  their  records  do  most  evidently 
tend  to  show  forth  his  glory ;  but  our  mere  human 
biographers  often  aim  to  glorify  man — either  them- 
selves or  somebody  else.  Nothing  can  be  more 
instructive  to  man  than  the  study  of  man,  as  the 
inspired  writers  have  described  him ;  while  at  the 
same  time,  the  course  they  have  taken  evinces  in 
the  m_ost  striking  manner  their  impartiality  and 
honesty. 

Do  you  ask  what  is  the  advantage  of  studying 
biography,  how  well  soever  it  may  be  written  ?  The 
advantages  are  numerous.  Some  of  them  are  the 
following : 

1.  JVcgative  advantages.  These  do  not  belong 
to  biography,  exclusively ;  but  are  attached  to  the 
study  of  all  useful  science,  that  of  biography  among 
the  rest.  What  I  refer  to,  is  the  effect  which  they 
have  to  occupy  the  mind,  for  the  time  being,  to  the 
exclusion  of  evil  thoughts.  No  one  will  pretend  to 
believe,  for  a  moment,  that  there  is  any  thing  im- 
moral in  the  study  of  arithmetic,  algebra,  anatomy, 


172  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

astronomy,  or  biography  ;  unless  indeed  in  ihe  lat- 
ter case  we  study  the  biography  of  individuals  in 
whom  vice  greatly  predominates. 

2.  But  the  positive  advantages  of  studying  reli- 
gious biography,  are  still  more  important  and  strik- 
ing. This  species  of  biography  makes  us  acquainted, 
as  it  "were,  with  the  men  of  other  times  and  coun- 
tries ;  and  hence  its  importance  to  our  Sabbath 
schools.  We  seem  thus  to  be  introduced  to  the 
more  immediate  presence  and  society  of  Joseph  and 
Moses,  and  Noah,  and  Daniel,  and  Paul — and  even 
of  the  Savior  himself.  And  is  not  this  a  positive 
advantage  ?  Is  theie  an  individual  that  would  not 
feel  his  bosom  throb  at  the  prospect  of  being  intro- 
duced, five  minutes  hence,  to  Joseph  or  Paul  ?  "Who 
would  not  prefer  such  an  introduction,  to  the  mere 
gratification  of  his  selfish  passions,  or  animal  appe- 
tites, even  for  a  whole  day  ? 

Besides,  not  a  few  of  us  hope,  by  and  by,  to 
reach  heaven — those  blessed  heights  of  excellence 
to  M'hich  all  the  holy  men  and  women  of  old  have 
gone  before  us.  There  we  shall  see,  not  as  now  by 
the  eye  of  faith,  but  face  to  face,  the  whole  cata- 
logue of  worthy  men  and  women  of  whom  we  have 
had  a  glance  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament.  And  not  only  shall  we  see  them,  but  if 
there  is  communion  of  spirit  in  heaven,  we  shall 
have  opportunity  to  hold  sweet  converse  with  them 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  173 

forever  and  ever.  But  will  it  afford  us  no  pleasure 
to  have  become  intimately  acquainted,  in  this  world, 
with  their  particular  characters  1  Will  any  one  who 
shall  be  ushered  suddenly  into  the  presence  of  Da- 
vid, or  Isaiah,  or  Peter,  or  Paul,  have  occasion  for 
regret  that  he  has  spent  so  much  time  while  on  earth, 
in  studying  the  particular  events  of  his  history  ? 

When  friends  meet,  in  this  world,  after  a  lon^ 
absence,  and  many  adventures,  how  much  do  they 
delight  to  sit  together  and  recall  past  incidents  ! 
Especially  is  this  the  case  when  they  have  encoun- 
tered, during  their  separation,  singular  dangers,  or 
met  with  hair-breadth  escapes,  or  been  the  recipi- 
ents of  remarkable  favors.  And  will  it  not  afford 
an  individual  pleasure,  when  he  comes  to  sit  down 
with  Paul,  in  the  courts  above,  to  converse  with  him 
on  many  remarkable  incidents  of  his  remarkable 
life  ?  Will  it  not  afford  us  pleasure  to  hear,  from 
his  own  mouth,  the  story  of  his  journey  to  Damas- 
cus— his  being  mobbed  at  Lyslra — imprisoned  at 
Philippi — shipwrecked  at  Malta,  and  suffering  mar- 
tyrdom at  Rome  1  But  will  not  this  pleasure  be 
greatly  heightened,  if  we  are  already  familiar,  as 
much  so  as  the  study  of  the  sacred  pages  can  render 
us,  with  his  character  and  travels  ? 

Above  all,  do  we  expect  to  enjoy  in  the  heavenly 
world,  the  presence  and  society  of  our  Savior,  and 
to  convcise  with  him  also  face  to  face  forever  ? 

15* 


174  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

And  will  it  not  be  a  source  of  the  purest  pleasure  to 
hear  him  talk  of  Nazareth,  and  Bethany,  and  Sa- 
maria, and  Gethsemane,  and  Calvary  1  But  how 
will  it  give  a  zest  to  the  same  enjoyment,  to  be  so 
familiar  with  his  life,  as  narrated  by  the  faithful 
evangelists,  that  we  can  seem  to  travel  with  him 
from  place  to  place,  as  he  recounts  his  adventures, 
and  relates  his  dangers  and  escapes — his  labors  and 
his  trials  ! 

To  those  indeed  whose  social  powers  have  never 
been  developed  or  cultivated,  all  which  I  have  been 
saying  may  have  been  in  an  unknown  tongue  ;  alike 
unintelligible  and  uninteresting.  But  there  are  few 
such  who  come  within  the  influence  of  the  Sabbath 
school  or  the  sanctuary.  This  is  not  a  place  which 
is  likely  to  have  attractions  for  the  unsocial.  The 
very  presence  of  a  person,  old  or  young,  in  church 
or  in  Sabbath  school,  more  than  implies,  as  a  gene- 
ral rule,  that  his  social  powers  are  in  a  greater  or 
less  degree  awakened. 

3.  But  again  ;  religious  biography,  properly 
attended  to,  awakens,  improves,  and  elevates  the 
conscience.  On  this  subject,  President  Wayland, 
in  his  Elements  of  Moral  Science,  has  the  following 
thoughts : 

"  Our  conscience  is  improved  by  reflecting  upon 
virtuous  actions,  and  thinking  upon  virtuous  charac- 
ter.    The  more  we  do  this,  the  easier  do  we  learn 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  175 

to  distinguish  and  avoid  every  thing  that  is  wrong. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  should  reflect  much  on 
the  perfect  character  of  our  blessed  Savior,  if  we 
wish  to  improve  our  consciences  and  make  progress 
in  virtue.  So  young  persons  should  reflect  upon  the 
characters  of  Samuel,  Joseph,  and  Daniel,  in  the 
Bible,  and  of  Washington  and  other  good  men  of 
later  times." 

Nothing  can  be  more  just  than  these  sentiments  ; 
and  hardly  any  thing  can  offer  a  higher  inducement 
to  the  study  of  sacred  biography.  For  it  is  one  of 
the  prominent  faults  of  the  religious  education  of 
our  day,  that  conscientiousness  is  but  feebly  devel- 
oped, and  but  feebly  active,  especially  in  the  com- 
mon or  daily  concerns  of  life.  Yet  the  progress  of 
pure  and  undefiled  religion  must  be  slow  in  the 
earth,  till  men  learn  to  do  justice,  and  love  mercy, 
in  and  before  the  world,  as  well  as  to  demean  them- 
selves and  walk  humbly  before  God.  Never,  how- 
ever, will  mankind  learn  to  do  justice,  till  conscience 
is  so  cultivated  that  this  viceroy  of  the  Most  High 
shall  assume  its  proper  authority,  and  utter  in  a 
louder  tone,  and  on  all  the  smaller  as  well  as  larger 
occasions  of  life,  its  heavenly  mandates. 

"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  was  the  tes- 
timony, even  of  the  enemies  of  Christ ;  and  it  might 
with  equal  propriety  have  also  been  saiil,  Never 
man  acted  like  this  man.     Yet  in  nothing  was  he 


176  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

more  remarkable  than  for  his  conscientiousness.  So 
that  though  our  conscientiousness  may  be  awakened 
and  cultivated  by  the  contemplation  of  the  charac- 
ters of  holy  men  and  women  of  old,  the  result  is 
better  secured,  in  proportion  to  the  acknowledged 
excellence  or  freedom  from  defect  of  those  men ; 
and  best  of  all  by  the  study  of  the  character  of  our 
Lord  and  Savior. 

4.  Once  more.  It  has  been  said  that  we  are 
seldom,  if  ever,  in  company  with  an  individual,  so 
much  as  a  single  half  hour,  especially  if  it  is  an 
individual  whom  we  esteem,  without  having  our 
characters  more  or  less  modified  thereby  ;  or  in  other 
words,  becoming  more  like  him,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  than  we  were  before.  And  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  truth  of  this  saying  will  be  admitted  by  all 
who  have  paid  the  least  attention  to  the  workings 
of  their  own  mind  and  feelings.  The  contrary  effect 
is  also  equally  true — i.  e.  we  are  affected  in  ^  degree 
by  the  society  of  the  bad,  as  well  as  the  good. 

But  this  is  not  all.  Not  only  are  we  affected  by 
the  real  presence  and  conversation  of  all  those  per- 
sons for  whom  we  have  not  a  positive  aversion,  but 
also  by  that  contact  with  them  into  which  we  are 
brought  when  we  study  their  character,  as  it  appears 
in  well  written  biography.  Here,  also,  we  seem 
to  live  and  move,  as  it  were,  with  the  persons  of 
whom  we  are  reading. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  177 

Now  the  biography  of  the  Bible,  where  we  have 
been  early  made  familiar  with  it,  is  of  this  soul-stir- 
ring kind.  It  is  impossible  to  read  it,  and  above  all 
to  study  it  closely  in  the  Sabbath  school,  without 
having  our  whole  characters  affected  thereby.  This, 
then,  furnishes  a  very  strong  motive  to  the  study  of 
that  particular  class  of  writings,  especially  those 
parts  which  relate  to  holy  men  and  women  whose 
lives,  if  they  have  not  been  faulth  ss,  have  been  at 
least  comparatively  so. 

As  to  the  study  of  the  lives  of  those  men  and 
women  who,  though  their  main  purpose  was  to 
serve  God  and  their  generation,  were  guilty  of  many 
sad  failures  in  conduct,  I  would  reserve  this  for  a 
later  period  of  the  child's  progress.  For  unless  this 
is  done,  there  may  be  a  little  danger  that  the  child 
will  not  discriminate  between  the  good  and  the 
bad ;  but  will  alike  receive  impressions  from  or 
copy  both. 

In  prosecuting  the  study  of  biography  with  the 
end  above  mentioned  in  view,  nothing  in  the  whole 
compass  of  the  sacred  volume  would  be  more  fruit- 
ful of  instruction  to  children,  or  more  useful  in  form- 
ing their  characters,  than  the  life  of  our  Savior. 
There  cannot  possibly  be  a  better  model  on  which 
to  form  character  than  this,  as  every  one  will  ac- 
knowledge. And  yet  how  little  is  this  idea  attend- 
ed to ! 


178  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

§  II.    TRAVELS    AND    CHARACTER    OF    OUR    SAVIOR. 

Reasons  whv  ihe  Savior  should  have  a  prominent  place  in 
all  our  Scbbath  school  instruciinns. — Siory  telling,  as 
a  means  of  religious  teaching — Special  lessons  on  the 
Savior.  —  Examples — practical  ones — of  this  kind  of 
teaching. 

Let  me  repeat  and  enforce  here  the  suggestion, 
that  the  Savior  should  be  made  the  example  of  the 
child,  no  less  than  of  the  adult ;  and  let  me  also  add 
that  while  this  general  idea  should  nowhere  be  for- 
gotten, it  should  be  especially  borne  in  mind,  in 
all  our  conduct  and  management  in  the  Sabbath 
school. 

It  is  insisted  upon,  therefore,  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  our  Sabbath  school  instruction  should 
have  for  its  basis,  the  life,  travels,  and  general  cha- 
racter of  the  best  men  and  women  of  the  Bible; 
and,  above  all,  of  our  Savior.  There  is  moreover  a 
reason  for  this,  to  which  I  believe  I  have  not  yet 
alluded — the  pleasure  which  the  young  appear  to 
take  in  it.  I  have  seldom  seen  a  class  of  pupils  -I 
do  not  expect  very  soon  to  see  one — who  did  not 
relish,  in  the  highest  degree,  the  study  of  Bible 
manners,  customs,  and  tra^  els,  but  especially  cha- 
racter. They  are  particularly  delighted  with  every 
thing  of  the  anecdote  kind  ;  and  almost  every  thing 
may  be  taught,  if  we  desire  it,  in  the  shape  of  anec- 
dote. 

I  have  often  been  struck  with  this  trait  of  hu- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  179 

lYian  nature,  as  developed  in  childhood  and  youth. 
A  story  well  told — and  a  Bible  story  in  particular, 
though  I  scarcely  know  why — will  enchain  the  at- 
tention of  a  Sabbath  school  class  for  a  long  time, 
when  nothing  else  will  be  found  sufficient  to  do  it ; 
and  what  is  still  more  remarkable,  it  will  not  wear 
out.  I  never  yet  told  a  Bible  story  to  a  class  of 
very  young  pupils  so  frequently  or  so  long — pro- 
vided it  was  not  more  frequent  than  each  successive 
Sabbath — without  their  being  greatly  delighted  with 
it;  and  in  general,  the  more  so  the  longer  it  was 
told  them.  If  any  one  can  explain  the  why  and 
wherefore  of  this  result,  I  am  sure  he  has  read 
deeper  the  mysteries  of  childhood  than  I  have  done. 
The  first  and  most  important — and  may  I  not 
say  the  most  interesting — course  of  Sabbath  school 
lessons,  which  could  possibly  be  devised  for  children 
and  youth,  would  be  such  a  course  as  should  bring 
most  into  view,  in  its  progress,  the  character  of  our 
Savior.  The  first  lessons  should  relate  to  his  birth 
and  early  infancy ;  the  next  to  his  childhood ;  the 
next  to  his  youth  ;  the  next  perhaps  to  his  entrance 
upon  the  ministry.  Afterward  the  lessons  could  be 
so  arranged  that  each  should  embrace  some  impor- 
tant act  or  event  of  his  life,  and  that  these  acts  and 
events  should  follow  each  other  as  much  as  possible, 
in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred.  In  this  way, 
and  by  a  constant  recurrence  to  the  principles  which 


ISO  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

governed  our  Savior  in  his  actions,  we  could  con- 
tinually appeal  to,  and  cultivate  the  conscientious- 
ness of  our  pupils,  as  well  as  inform  and  indoctrinate 
them. 

I  regret,  very  much — who  can  help  regretting 
it  ? — that  while  we  admit  the  Savior  to  be  our  great 
example,  we  practically  follow  his  example  less 
than  we  do  that  of  almost  any  other  individual. 
We  are  taught  to  measure  ourselves  among  our- 
selves, and  even  hy  ourselves,  and  at  the  highest 
possible  effort  only  to  measure  ourselves  by  our 
neighbors  ;  but  how  seldom  to  measure  ourselves 
by  Jesus  Christ !   This,  surely,  ought  not  to  be  so. 

By  taking  up  the  infancy,  the  childhood,  and 
the  youth  of  our  Savior  as  so  many  separate  topics, 
and  by  conversing  familiarly  with  our  classes  on  the 
character  of  the  Savior  at  these  early  periods  of  his 
life,  a  fine  opportunity  is  afforded  of  leading  them 
into  the  habit  of  making  him  their  model,  in  all 
the.r  conduct. 

For  example,  in  studying  on  the  youth  of  Jesus, 
we  should  come  of  course  to  the  statement  that  at 
twelve  years  of  age  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem  with 
his  parents  to  the  feast.  Now  most  young  people  of 
these  days,  and  perhaps  of  any  other  days,  who  were 
about  to  make  a  journey  of  eighty  miles,  to  the  me- 
tropolis, would  have  more  or  less  regard  to  external 
appearance.     Here,  therefore,  as  well  as  everywhere 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  181 

else,  I  would  make  Ihe  Savior  the  model,  by  lead- 
ing them  to  reflect  on  his  probable  conduct  in  this 
particular,  as  well  as  in  many  others. 

Did  the  Savior,  when  he  went  with  his  parents 
to  Jerusalem,  in  all  piobability  wear  his  usual 
dress  1  Or  if  not,  what  changes  would  he  be  likely 
to  make  ?  Were  all  such  changes  probably  made 
with  reference  merely  to  his  exposed  situation  as  a 
traveller,  and  to  cleanliness  ;  or  would  his  dress  be 
gay,  showy,  or  expensive  ?  How  many  of  you  think 
he  would  be  likely  to  wear  very  expensive  or  gay 
clothes]  (Here  I  would  encourage  my  pupils,  if 
they  w'ere  accustomed  to  express  their  opinion  in 
this  way,  to  raise  their  hands  for  the  affirmative  of 
the  question.)  How  many  think  he  would  7iot  wear 
very  expensive  clothing  ?  Do  you  think  he  would 
be  likely  to  be  careful  and  prudent  in  his  expenses  ; 
and  why  so  ?  Would  it  be  because  his  parents  were 
poor,  or  for  some  other  and  better  reason  ]  Which 
ought  to  be  the  great  reason  why  we  avoid  unne- 
cessary expense  in  any  matter,  because  it  will  bear 
hard  upon  ourselves  or  our  friends,  or  because  it  is 
in  itself  wrong  1 

What  reason  have  we  for  believing^  that  the 
Savior  always  obeyed  his  parents  ?  What  instance 
is  there  in  which  he  seems,  at  the  first  view,  not  to 
have  shown  them  proper  respect  ?  Are  we  quite 
sure  that  in  this  instance  he  treated  them  irapro- 

16 


182  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

perly  ?  Is  there  any  other  instance  of  his  seeming 
to  do  so,  during  the  whole  time  of  his  continuance 
under  the  guidance  of  his  earthly  parents  1  How 
long  did  he  remain  at  home  with  his  parents  ?  Do 
you  know  of  any  boy — did  you  ever  read  or  hear  of 
any  one — who  never  showed  marks  of  disregard  to 
parental  authority  but  once  in  thirty  years  ? 

I  would  endeavor,  in  this  way,  by  the  Savior's 
example  no  less  than  by  his  sacrifice,  to  make  him 
a  whole  and  perfect  Savior  rather  than  a  partial 
one,  to  those  over  whom  God  should  set  me  as  a 
teacher.  I  w^ould  continually  refer  to  him  either 
by  asking  them  what  they  suppose  he  actually  did 
in  particular  cases,  or  w4iat  they  suppose  in  a  given 
case  he  would  do  ;  thus  making  hhn  the  measure 
of  our  conduct,  as  I  have  already  called  it,  rather 
than  our  neighbors. 

I  would  do  more  than  even  this.  I  would  fre- 
quently put  the  question,  what  they  suppose  the 
Savior  would  do  were  he  now  among  us,  in  the 
Sabbath  school.  Thus,  suppose  a  boy  were  to  sit 
rather  unquietly  in  his  class,  I  would  break  away 
from  the  subject  of  the  regular  lesson,  for  a  moment, 
and  say :  Do  you  think  the  Savior  ever  attended  a 
Sabbath  school  ?    Why  do  you  think  he  did  not  ? 

But  he  was  once  a  boy,  like  the  members  of  this 
class,  was  he  not  ?  Suppose  he  were  here  in  the 
world  now,  and  about  your  age,  and  should  come 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  183 

into  the  Sabbath  school,  and  seat  himself  on  the 
bench  by  your  side,  how  do  you  think  he  would 
conduct  himself?  How  many  of  you  think  he  would 
sit  still,  while  in  the  class  ?  How  many  think  he 
would  be  very  uneasy,  and  make  a  great  deal  of 
noise  and  disturbance  ?  Addressing  myself  to  the 
boy  whose  unquiet  movements  had  led  to  the  inquiry, 
I  would  say  :  But  if  the  Savior  would  be  likely  to 
sit  very  still  while  in  the  Sabbath  school  class,  what 
ought  you  to  do  ?  But  suppose  you  should  not  sit 
still,  what  ought  I  to  do  ?  If  the  Savior  were  on 
earth,  and  were  the  teacher  of  the  class  in  my  stead, 
what  would  he  probably  say  or  do,  in  such  a  case  ? 
Suppose  a  boy  were  to  behave  ill  in  time  of 
prayer  ?  Do  you  know,  I  would  say,  whether  the 
Savior  ever  prayed  %  If  he  did,  do  you  think  he 
stood  still,  while  praying  ;  or  did  he  probably  move 
about  from  place  to  place  ?  Why  do  you  think  he 
would  be  hkely  to  keep  still  %  But  if  it  was  proper 
for  him  to  keep  still  in  time  of  prayer,  is  it  not  pro- 
per for  you  to  do  the  same  thing  ?  I  observed  dur- 
ing" the  prayer  just  now,  that  one  of  you  (calling 
him  by  name)  kept  in  continual  motion,  as  well  as 
played  a  little.  Was  it  right  or  wrong  ?  What 
think  you  the  Savior  would  say  about  it  if  he  were 
here?  But  are  you  willing  to  do  that  which  he 
would  say  was  wrong  ?  Why  should  you  be  afraid 
to  do  that  which  the  Savior  would  regard  as  wrong  ? 


184  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

And  if  you  would  avoid  doing  a  thing  in  his  pres- 
ence, why  should  you  not  avoid  doing  it  in  his 
absence  ?    Does  he  not  always,  in  fact,  see  you  ? 

I  would  put  to  them,  from  time  to  time,  a  great 
number  of  cases  like  the  following.  Suppose  the 
Savior  met  people  on  the  road,  in  his  travels,  as 
from  Nazareth  to  Jerusalem,  how  do  you  think  he 
treated  them  ?  If  they  were  young  people,  do  you 
think  he  was  rude  or  clownish  ;  or  if  older  people, 
unmannerly  ?  Do  you  think  he  w^as  ever  accus- 
tomed to  answer  people  roughly,  as  some  boys 
sometimes  do  among  us  ?  Suppose  he  met  with 
some  very  mean  person,  as  a  WTetched  miser,  or  a 
miserable  totterino;  drunkard,  do  you  think  he  would 

O  'J 

laugh  at  him,  or  holloa,  or  throw  stones  at  him  1 

Perhaps  he  sometimes  met  with  swearers — for 
swearers  certainly  abounded  in  Galilee,  where  he 
was  brought  up — do  you  think  he  ever  joined  them 
in  their  swearing?  Do  you  think  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  using  words  which  lead  to  swearing,  such 
as  we  find  in  many  a  boy's  mouth  in  our  streets ; 
and  such  as  not  a  few  men  use,  and  some  women 
too  ?  Here  1  would,  perhaps,  name  to  the  class  a 
few  of  the  long  list  of  silly,  not  to  say  wicked  words, 
so  many  of  which  are  heard  every  day  among  us. 

Sometimes  the  Savior,  as  we  may  reasonably 
suppose,  would  meet  with  boys  who  were  indolent. 
Do  you  think  he  was  fond  of  their  society ;  or  would 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  185 

he  try  to  avoid  them  ?  And  if  he  could  not  wholly 
avoid  them,  would  he  not  have  as  little  intercourse 
with  them  as  possible  ? 

The  boys  of  Galilee  were,  many  of  them,  ad- 
dicted to  lying  ;  do  you  think  the  Savior  always  told 
the  exact  truth  ;  or  do  you  think  he  sometimes  de- 
parted from  it,  more  or  less,  in  order  to  suit  his  own 
convenience,  or  to  make  out  a  good  story  ? 

Again,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  among  the 
bad  boys  of  Nazareth  and  other  parts  of  Galilee,  to 
take  things  without  liberty,  if  they  thought  neither 
the  owner,  nor  their  parents,  nor  teachers,  would  be 
likely  to  find  it  out ;  now  do  you  think  the  Savior 
ever  did  any  such  thing  ?  I  do  not  allude  to  steal- 
ing money,  either  in  large  or  small  sums,  so  much 
as  to  stealing  fruit  and  flowers,  from  fields  or  gar- 
dens ;  taking  to  themselves  small  articles  of  various 
kinds  which  were  not  theirs ;  robbing  the  nests  of 
birds,  fowls,  &c. 

If  the  Savior  had  brothers  and  sisters,  we  might 
ask  whether  it  is  to  be  supposed  he  would  be  in  the 
habit  of  vexing  or  hurting  them,  especially  any  who 
were  younger  than  he ;  or  whether  it  is  not  more 
likely  he  was  kind  to  them,  and  instead  of  irritating 
them  by  vexing  them,  or  doing  them  harm,  that  he 
labored  incessantly  to  do  them  good. 

In  short,  for  I  need  not  be  more  particular,  I 
would  bring  the  Savior's  example  to  bear  upon  all 
16* 


186  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

the  conditions  and  relations  of  life — whether  we  are 
young  or  old,  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  bond  or 
free.  For  if  I  do  not  greatly  mistake  in  the  matter, 
such  is  the  appropriate  use  of  the  Savior's  example. 
It  is  not  in  the  larger  events  of  life  alone — even  of 
adult  life — that  he  is  to  be  imitated  by  his  followers ; 
for  these  larger  events  are  but  seldom,  while  the 
smaller  events  are  of  perpetual  recurrence.  Whether 
w^e  eat,  or  drink,  or  whatever  we  do,  we  are  bound, 
according  to  Paul,  to  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God  ; 
and  in  what  way  would  the  glory  of  God  be  better 
promoted  than  by  having  every  body  do  as  the 
Savior  would  do  in  similar  circumstances  ? 


§  III.    RESULT    OF    THIS    IXSTRUCTION. 

Not  always  immediate — To  know  is  no*  to  do. — Tendency 
to  promote  conscientioubness. — Examples. — Nothing  of 
this  kind  wholly  lost. 

The  results  of  this  sort  of  religious  instruction 
would  be  as  certain  as  they  w^ould  be  happy.  But 
let  us  not  form  undue  expectations  on  this  subject. 
We  must  never  expect  to  form  Christians  in  this 
way.  To  know  is  not  to  do  ;  and  even  to  do  is  not 
always  to  do  from  right  motives.  What  we  ought 
to  expect  as  the  immediate  result  of  this  form  of 
religious  instruction  is  the  awakening  and  forming 
of  the  conscience.     Half  the  religious  world,  I  say 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  187 

again,  have  no  conscientiousness  in  regard  to  the 
smaller  concerns  and  conduct  of  life.  Indeed,  I  have 
heard  some  men  of  considerable  intelligence  gravely 
and  seriously  say,  that  there  were  a  grade  of  human 
actions  that  had  no  moral  character  ;  and  that  to 
think  of  inquiring  how  the  Savior  would  perform 
them,  would  be  foolish  if  not  absolutely  ridiculous. 
I  have  even  heard  this  from  some  who  aspired  to 
be  eminent  teachers,  and  who  were  regarded  as 
such. 

But  I  have  not  so  learned  Christ,  or  even  Paul. 
If  I  know  any  thing  about  the  doctrines  of  these  in- 
dividuals, especially  the  former,  there  is  not  a  single 
human  action,  word,  or  thought,  which  is  not  either 
pleasing  or  displeasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  His 
eye  is  always  upon  us,  and  never  for  a  moment 
turned  away,  even  though  we  may  not  believe  it. 
And  as  surely  as  he  sees  us  continually,  so  surely 
will  he  bring  every  secret  thing  into  judgment, 
whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil ;  whether 
an  idle  word,  or  an  idle  thought  or  action. 

I  say  again,  therefore,  that  I  would  have  people 
conscientious  in  regard  to  every  thing  they  do.  And 
I  verily  believe  that  to  this  conscientiousness  in  every 
thing,  the  kind  of  instruction  in  regard  to  the  Savior, 
of  which  I  have  been  speaking  inevitably  tends. 
Even  if  a  child  should  not  acquire  the  habit  of  ask- 
ins:  himself  in  all  the  circumstances  of  life,  how  the 


188  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

Savior  would  act  in  similar  circumstances,  he  would 
at  least  sometimes  do  it.  It  could  hardly  be  other- 
wise. The  lessons  of  the  Sabbath  school  are  never 
wholly  obliterated,  especially  when  they  are  made 
at  once  intelligible,  interesting  and  practical.  Few 
are  so  stupid  or  so  careless  as  not  to  be  at  all  affect- 
ed by  them. 

Let  even  a  mischievous  boy,  who  has  been  un- 
der influences  of  this  sort  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath, 
be  tempted  to  pilfer  from  a  neighbor's  melon  bed. 
He  revolves  it  in  his  mind  whether  he  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  dogs,  guns,  traps,  &c. ;  but  he  does  not 
at  first  think  of  the  All-seeing  eye,  that  will  behold 
him.  Conscience,  however,  true  to  her  ofhce,  soon 
reminds  him  that  God  his  Savior  sees  him,  and  that 
this  Savior,  were  he  on  earth,  would  not  do  what 
he  is  tempted  to  do.  This  thought  perhaps  decides 
a  question  which,  but  for  the  thought,  had  been  de- 
cided far  otherwise.  Or  if  he  goes  against  con- 
science and  his  fears,  and  does  the  deed,  conscience 
is  very  apt  to  harass  him  some  time  afterward. 

Let  the  teacher,  therefore,  w^hether  in  the  Sab- 
bath school,  the  district  school,  or  the  family,  in  all 
his  teachings  endeavor  to  make  the  Savior  the  great 
example,  not  only  in  mere  theory,  like  most  of  the 
rest  of  the  professing  Christian  world,  but  daily  and 
practically  ;  and  this  not  only  in  the  larger  concerns 
of  life,  but  also  in  the  smaller  ones.     Let  him  not 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  189 

fear  that  any  of  his  instructions  of  this  sort  will  be 
lost,  for  I  do  not  believe  they  will  be  wholly  so,  as 
long  as  the  individual  to  whom  they  are  given  re- 
tains his  consciousness. 


§  IV.    TEACHING    THE    NATURAL    LAWS    OF    GOD. 

Objections  to  these,  as  being  secular. — The  objection  an- 
swered.— Examples  ol'  this  kind  of  insiruclion. — Trie  laws 
of  germination  and  growth. — Decay  and  putrefaction  — 
Perspiration. —  Phvsioh)gy  of  crucifixion  — The  renewal 
or  renovation  of  the  human  body. — Practical  moral  in- 
ferences.— The  law  of  fermeniaiion. — Objections  con- 
sidered. 


I  have  said,  elsewhere,  that  I  would  teach  the 
natural  laws  of  God,  in  the  Sabbath  school ;  but 
have  said  nothing  of  the  manner  in  which  I  would 
do  it.  Now  if  there  are  those  who  regard  the  sci- 
ences of  anatomy,  physiology,  geology,  natural  his- 
tory, &c.,  as  secular  matters,  and  who  therefore  feel 
conscientious  scruples  about  suffering  them  to  come 
into  the  Sabbath  school,  I  would  say  to  them,  that 
these  sciences  need  not  and  probably  should  not  be 
introduced  in  a  formal,  scientific  manner,  but  as  it 
were  incidentally  ;  and  in  connection  with  the  regu- 
lar Bible  lessons.* 


*  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  tliey  should  never  be  taught 
formallvand  scientifically  to  the  young,  for  they  undoubtedly 
should  be  so,  liom  the  very  earliest  yeats  at  which  instruc- 
tion of  any  kind  is  admissible;  but  only  that  the  Sabbath 
school  is  not  the  place  for  these  more  direct  eflTorts. 


190  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Am  I  asked  how  I  would  connect  it  with  the 
Bible  lesson  ?    I  will  explani  my  meaning. 

In  teaching  a  class  from  the  parable  of  the 
sower,  for  example,  I  would  speak  of  the  curious 
processes  of  germination  and  growth  ;  and  inciden- 
tally, perhaps,  of  decay.  I  would  endeavor  to  ex- 
plain to  them,  in  as  simple  a  manner  as  possible, 
those  wonderful  but  not  wholly  inscrutable  natural 
laws  of  Jehovah,  by  which  a  seed  grows  up  into  a 
tree ;  by  which  the  tree  maintains  its  existence  in 
defiance  of  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  other 
surrounding  influences ;  and  by  which  it  finally 
yields  to  chemical  laws,  and  loses  its  vitality,  or,  as 
we  say,  dies. 

In  connection  with  the  subject  of  decay  and 
putrefaction,  I  would  embrace  the  opportunity  of 
showing  a  class,  in  as  plain  a  manner  as  possible, 
that  in  the  process  which  we  call  perishing,  nothing 
is  really  and  truly  annihilated.  That  even  a  stick 
of  wood  or  piece  of  charcoal,  when  it  is  consumed 
by  fire,  is  not  really  destroyed,  but  that  every  par- 
ticle of  it  is  in  existence  somewhere. 

This,  should  we  choose  to  have  it  so,  might  lead 
to  conversation  about  the  dissolution  of  our  own  bo- 
dies, and  to  the  laws  of  growth  and  decay  in  them. 
From  these  the  transition  to  remarks  on  particular 
organs  of  the  human  body,  and  the  laws  of  those 
organs,  is  easy  and  natural,  should  the  time  and  cir- 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  191 

cumstances  admit  of  it.  Or  the  transition  might  be 
to  the  change  of  body  which  takes  place  at  the  final 
resurrection ;  and  the  pupils  might  be  referred  to 
the  fifteenth  chapter  of  1  Corinthians,  for  the  beau- 
tiful account  which  Paul  gives  of  this  great  change. 

Again,  in  a  lesson  which  should  include  an  ac- 
count of  the  Savior  at  Gethsemane,  and  the  anguish 
he  underwent  there  as  evinced  by  his  sweating  as  it 
were  great  drops  of  blood,  after  the  more  important 
and  more  striking  moral  reflections  had  been  made 
and  done  their  w^ork,  an  ingenious  teacher  might 
proceed  to  explain  briefly  the  nature  of  the  process 
of  perspiration  ;  its  uses  in  the  human  economy ; 
and  the  diseases  which  result  from  its  suppression. 
Here  would  be  a  fine  opportunity  for  enforcing  the 
Creator's  laws  of  cleanliness  among  the  rest,  and  for 
showing  his  class  that  Jeremy  Taylor  was  not  so 
much  out  of  the  way  as  many  suppose  when,  in  urg- 
ing the  importance  of  cleanliness,  he  said  it  was 
next  to  godliness. 

And  in  a  lesson  which  should  embrace  the  aw- 
ful account  of  the  crucifixion,  I  would  take  occasion, 
both  for  the  sake  of  making  the  idea  of  the  Savior's 
sufferings  more  distinct,  and  for  other  purposes,  to 
describe  the  manner  in  which  He  was  fastened  to  the 
cross,  especially  by  means  of  the  nails  ;  and  in  par- 
ticular to  speak  of  the  violence  which  is  done  to  the 


192  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

human  hands  by  piercing  them  tlirouoh  and  through 
with  nails.  Not  that  theie  would  be  time,  in  a  sin- 
gle hour,  to  go  deeply  into  such  a  subject,  but  there 
would  at  least  be  time  to  announce  it ;  and  then 
the  whole  hour  of  the  next  meeting  might  be  spent 
in  an  account  of  the  curious  mechanism  of  the  hand, 
with  the  laws  by  which  this  instrument,  together 
with  the  rest  of  the  system,  is  goveriied.  Or  if  an 
hour  were  too  long,  either  because  attention  began 
to  flag,  or  for  any  other  reason,  less  time  might  be 
devoted  to  it — half  or  a  quarter  ot  an  hour. 

The  nail,  in  passing  into  ihe  ham!  in  crucifixion 
first  pierced  the  integuments ;  but  these  are  sup- 
posed to  have  been  explained  alieady.  Next,  they 
pierced  strong  muscles  and  tendons,  and  delicate 
but  strono;  bands  and  ho-aujent-v.  and  still  moie  deli- 
cate  nerves  and  blood-vessels.  Here,  to  make  the 
impression  both  vivid  anrl  permanent,  it  Avill  be  ne- 
cessary to  describe  brietiy  a  ojuscle,  a  tendon,  a 
fascia  or  band,  a  ligament,  a  nerve,  and  two  kinds 
of  blood-vessels.  To  do  th:s  may  requiie  a  good 
deal  of  time,  and  will  involve  an  account  of  a  large 
part  of  the  organs  of  the  human  body,  as  well  as 
a  description  of  the  functions  they  severaiK  and 
unitedly  perform.  To  sav,  howeve.-,  m  llils  place, 
precisely  what  should  b'^-  tauq^ht,  and  how  the  instruc- 
tion should  be  given,  would  be  to  go  over  with  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  193 

very  course  of  instruction  which  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  pursue  while  before  the  class,  and  would 
probably  be  as  tedious  as  it  would  be  misplaced. 

On  coming  to  the  account  of  the  piercing  of  the 
Savior's  side,  with  the  consequences  which  followed, 
there  would  be  a  fresh  occasion  for  endeavoring  to 
inculcate  several  of  the  laws  of  the  human  frame, 
both  within  and  without  us.  What  it  was  that  the 
spear  pierced,  what  the  liquid  probably  was  that 
escaped,  why  it  escaped  from  the  body,  and  several 
other  important  questions,  both  in  the  science  of 
human  life  and  in  natural  philosophy,  might  afford  in- 
terest and  impart  reality  to  the  awful  scene.  I  am 
much  mistaken  if  any  w^ay  can  be  devised,  which 
like  this,  will  make  the  pupil  feel  that  Jesus  really 
suffered — and  that  too  for  him. 

There  is,  with  many  of  the  young — I  wish  I 
need  not  say,  wath  most — a  very  vague  belief  in  the 
awful  reality  of  the  crucifixion,  and  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. To  them  there  is  something  so  unearthly  and 
unreal  in  these  events,  that  they  seldom,  if  ever — at 
least  among  us — feel  the  full  force  of  the  Scripture 
account  of  Olivet  and  Gethsemane,  Jerusalem  and 
Calvary.  And  is  not  that  instruction  a  matter  of 
some  importance,  which  shall  help  them  to  regard 
the  birth,  the  death,  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
Savior,  as  realities  ? 

Besides — and  this,  as  I  have  already  said,  is  one 
17 


194  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

principal  object  in  this  sort  of  instruction — is  it  not 
a  matter  of  importance  to  extend  the  dominion  of 
conscience,  by  continually  reminding  the  young  that 
the  laws  of  the  Creator  are  not  only  operative  all 
around  us,  but  within  us ; — not  only  above  us,  but 
below  us  ? 

In  connection  with  the  resurrection  of  our  Savior, 
or  that  of  Lazarus,  or  with  the  fifteenth  chapter  of 
the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  or  some  appro- 
priate passage  of  Scripture,  I  would  be  careful  to 
teach  the  highly  important  doctrine  of  the  renewal 
or  renovation  of  the  human  body  ;  especially  to  the 
more  advanced  classes  of  our  Sabbath  schools.  For 
when  I  was  quite  a  boy  and  read  in  the  Columbian 
Orator,  a  school  book,  in  a  sermon  by  President 
Davies,  on  the  Day  of  Judgment,  that  at  that  day, 
the  sky  would  be  darkened,  as  it  were,  by  parts  of 
bodies,  that  became  separated  after  death,  flying 
this  way  and  that  to  form  a  union — "  atom  to  join 
its  fellow  atom,  bone  its  fellow  bone,"  &c.,  I  used 
to  have  many  difficulties.  Suppose  bodies  are  eaten 
up,  I  said  to  myself,  as  in  the  case  of  war,  by  vul- 
tures or  beasts  of  prey,  and  go  to  form  other  bodies, 
how  then1 — Whereas  the  same  sort  of  difficulty 
exists,  whether  a  body  is  ealen  up  or  not.  We  have 
not  the  same  body  when  we  die  that  we  have  in 
childhood,  or  youth,  or  even  in  early  manhood ; 
nay,  more,  not  a  single  particle  of  it  at  seventy  years 


AS   IT    SHOULD    BE.  195 

of  age.  At  least  there  is  no  reason  to  think  this  is 
the  fact.  But  in  the  resurrection,  according  to  Paul, 
God  giveth  to  each  a  body  as  it  pleaseth  him ;  and 
to  every  one  his  own  body. 

The  human  body  is  continually  changing ;  par- 
ticle by  particle  is  constantly  wearing  off,  especially 
internally,  and  being  carried  out  of  the  body  ;  while 
each  particle  which  is  removed  has  its  place  filled 
by  a  new  particle,  which  perhaps  but  yesterday  was 
part  of  a  dead  mass,  in  the  form  of  food  as  it  comes 
to  our  tables,  and  but  a  few  months  ago  was  part  of 
the  grain  or  herb  of  the  field,  or  flew  in  the  heights  of 
the  air,  or  swarmed  in  the  deep  ocean.  We  might 
tell  them  something  of  the  processes  by  which  this 
mighty  change  of  dead  to  living  matter  is  accom- 
plished, so  far  as  they  are  understood,  or  the  process 
of  digestion.  We  might  tell  them  how  long  a  pe- 
riod physiologists  have  guessed  is  necessary  for 
changing  entirely  the  whole  body,  so  that  not  one 
of  its  former  particles  remains  in  it,  all  having  be- 
come renovated  or  made  new.  We  might  tell  them 
what  are  some  of  the  blessings  of  this  arrangement 
— how  it  happens  that  those  bodies  which  come  into 
the  world  the  inheritors  of  disease  in  some  of  their 
parts,  as  the  bones,  the  lungs,  or  the  liver,  may 
probably  be  improved  and  finally  lose  their  dis- 
eased character,  if  the  owners  can  but  be  persuaded 
to  obey,  for  a  long  course  of  years,  all  the  laws  of 


196  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

health  and  Hfe.  Many  have  wondered  how  it  could 
harmonize  with  the  benevolence  of  God  that  the  sins 
of  the  parents  should  be  visited  upon  the  children  in 
the  form  of  scrofula,  consumption,  &c.,  when  had 
they  known  that  there  is  great  reason  for  believing 
that  by  living  right,  the  old  bodies  with  which  these 
very  children  come  into  the  world,  if  not  too  far  gone, 
might  very  probably  after  a  few  successive  renova- 
tions, come  to  possess  entirely  new  and  healthy 
frames,  they  would  not  only  have  wondered  but 
adored. 

This  wonderful  doctrine,  I  say,  might  be  sug- 
gested by  several  passages  of  Holy  Writ ;  and  the 
moral  bearing  might  especially  be  brought  into 
view.  For  if  our  bodies  are  continually  changing, 
like  our  minds,  and  if  we  have  the  power  to  make 
them  better  or  worse,  and  even  to  form  them  anew, 
as  we  have  to  form  our  minds  and  hearts  anew,  then 
it  is  a  moral  duty  to  do  so ;  and  every  thing  which 
is  known  to  improve  the  human  body,  it  becomes  us 
at  once  to  seize  upon.  For  how  can  we  glorify 
God,  in  our  bodies  and  spirits  which  are  his,  as  we 
are  commanded  to  do,  except  by  bringing  our  bodies 
into  subjection  to  His  laws,  and  making  the  most 
and  best  of  them  we  possibly  can  ?  But  does  he 
make  the  most  and  best  of  his  body,  who,  knowing 
he  can  greatly  improve  it,  or  perhaps  from  a  sickly 
mass,  new  build  it  into  perfect  health,  should  he  live 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  197 

long  enough,  neglects  to  obey  what  he  knows  to  be 
the  laws  of  that  body  ?  Does  he  make  the  most 
and  best  of  his  body  who  not  only  does  not  do  the 
best  he  can  to  improve  it,  but  actually  does  a  great 
many  things,  from  day  to  day,  which  are  continually 
making  it  worse  ? 

And  here  too  I  am  reminded  of  another  natural 
law  of  the  Creator,  which  should  in  fact  be  taught 
our  pupils  before  we  teach  them  any  thing  in  regard 
to  the  renovation  of  the  body,  I  mean  the  law  of 
fermentation.     The  whole  history  of  wine  is  curious, 
and  I  consider  it  no  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  or 
the  Sabbath  school  to  have  it  properly  set  forth  by 
the  ingenious  teacher.     Indeed  I  should  consider  it 
an  act  upon  which  the  Deity  might  look  down  with 
peculiar  approbation,  to  show  our  young  people  in 
the  Sabbath  school,  that  we  can  have  no  vinous  fer- 
mentation, as  it  is  called,  so  far  as  we  know,  with- 
out having,  as  the  result,  a  poisonous  principle  de- 
veloped, called  alcohol,  and  found  diffused  in  the 
wine ;  and  that  this  alcohol  in  any  quantity,  small 
or  great,  is  unfriendly  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
human  body,  and  will  not  permit  of  that  improve- 
ment from  day  to  day  in  the  greatest  possible  degree, 
to  which  I  have  elsewhere  alluded  ;  and  to  show 
them  also  that  until  fermentation  does  take  place, 
we  can  have  no  alcohol ; — the  latter  never  being 
contained,  as  some  suppose  it  is,  in  the  substances 
17* 


198  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

from  which  it  is  made,  such  as  apples,  grain,  &c.  &c., 
but  being  always  made  from  them,  by  a  chemical 
or  half  creating  process. 

Should  it  be  said  that  these  are  too  high  matters, 
many  of  them,  for  the  pupils  of  our  Sabbath  schools ; 
I  reply,  that  this  may  be  so,  or  it  may  not.  They 
are  not  too  high,  if  the  pupils  are  trained  to  think 
and  inquire  ;  and  if  they  are  presented  to  their 
minds  in  the  proper  order  and  manner.  Almost  any 
thing  which  relates  to  the  laws  of  the  human  frame 
may  be  made  intelligible  to  the  youngest  child,  if 
presented  to  him  as  it  should  be.  But  herein,  it  will 
perhaps  still  be  said,  is  the  difficulty — teachers  are 
not  ready  to  present  it  as  it  should  be.  I  know 
many  are  not ;  were  it  not  so,  I  should  not  attempt 
to  give  public  instruction,  in  this  manner.  My  aim 
is  to  encourage  them  to  make  themselves  what  they 
should  be  ;  and  the  first  thing  which  I  would  attempt 
is  to  show  how  the  laws  of  health  can  be  taught  in 
connection  with  Bible  lessons,  that  teachers  may 
be  induced  to  study  those  laws,  and  promulgate 
them. 

And  as  to  the  importance  of  these  matters,  who 
can  doubt  if?  Not  important  to  know  one's  self? 
Too  early  to  know  one's  self  ?  Impossible.  Some 
of  the  first  and  most  practical  lessons  which  children 
acquire  relate  to  themselves,  especially  their  bodies. 
These  are  nearest  to  them,  most  tangible,  and  to 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


199 


them  most  interesting.  There  is  not  a  child  of  two 
or  three  years  of  age  in  the  world,  unless  that  child 
is  either  an  idiot  or  strangely  perverted  by  misedu- 
cation,  who  will  not  be  both  delighted  and  profited 
by  the  study  of  his  own  frame. 

Still,  it  will  be  said  that  the  Bible  is  not  design- 
ed to  teach  us  the  sciences ;  but  morals  and  religion. 
I  know  this  is  so,  nor  do  I  undertake  to  teach  any 
thino-  in  connection  with  the  Bible  which  is  not  ne- 
cessary  to  a  right  understanding  of  the  Bible ;  nor 
even  then,  if  it  is  likely  to  be  acquired  elsewhere — 
in  the  family,  or  in  the  day  school.     But  though  the 
Bible  is  not  designed  to  teach  us  the  sciences,  espe- 
cially the  fads  of  science,  yet  it  gives  us  the  prm- 
ciples  by  which  we  are  to  be  guided  in  the  selection 
and  application  of  the  sciences.     If  we  are  required 
in  the  Bible  to  love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves,  we 
certainly  need  to  know  how  to  make  the  applica- 
tion of  this  great  principle  in  the  daily  walks  and 
relations  of  life;  in  our  families,  our  schools,  our 
factories,  our  shops,  and  our  churches.     Is  it  loving 
our  neighbor  as  ourselves — as  Christ  would  have  us 
love  him,  to  assist  him  in  destroying  himself,  or  even 
to  connive  at  his  self-destruction  ?    Is  it  loving  our 
neighbor  as  ourselves  to  suffer  him  to  remain — when 
it  is  in  our  power  to  prevent  it — in  that  ignorance 
which  will  permit  him  to  give  his  vote  for  wicked 
and  unprincipled  rulers  ?    And  so  of  a  thousand  other 


200  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

things.  And  now  if  parents  and  the  teachers  of  our 
common  schools — the  schools  of  the  land — will  not, 
that  is,  do  not  give  the  kind  of  information  to  which 
I  refer,  I  hold  it  to  be  the  duty  of  Sabbath  school 
teachers  to  prepare  themselves  to  give  it;  and  to  do 
so  in  connection  with  their  regular  lessons.  Not, 
of  course,  to  attempt  to  teach  every  thing  at  once ; 
but  only  such  things  as  they  may  seem  called  upon 
by  the  lesson  to  teach,  and  as  may  be  adapted  to 
their  ages,  capacities,  and  circumstances. 

Thus,  though  I  have  said  I  would  speak  to  my 
pupils  of  the  renewal  of  the  human  body,  I  would  not 
teach  them  every  thing  at  once,  but  introduce  them  to 
the  doctrine  gradually.  Occasions  for  adverting  to  it 
will  probably  occur  several  times  in  the  course  of  a 
year  or  two.  Nor  would  I  explain  to  them,  at  once, 
the  whole  doctrine  of  sympathy,  an  important  prin- 
ciple or  law,  alluded  to  by  Paul,  in  his  writings. 
Nor  in  speaking  of  wine,  would  I  go  through  the 
whole  history,  with  the  uses  and  abuses  of  that  arti- 
cle, at  once.  Its  interference,  however,  with  the 
health  of  the  body,  whenever  introduced  into  it,  I 
would  ultimately  make  fully  known,  as  they  might 
be  able  to  bear  it. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  201 

§  V.    TEACHING    DOCTRINES    IN    THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL. 

This  entirely  unnecessary. — Experiment  of  a  teacher. — 
Author's  experience. — His  method  with  Bible  classes. — 
Greatness  of  the  work. 

Some  persons  appear  anxious  to  avoid  the  dis- 
cussion of  doctrinal  matters  in  the  Sabbath  school. 
Now  I  do  not  think  this  at  all  necessary.  I  would 
certainly  desire  to  have  every  teacher  set  forth  and 
explain  doctrine,  as  it  comes  in  his  way,  in  the  Sab- 
bath school,  taking;  care  to  do  it  with  candor. 

The  use  of  the  Bible  in  the  common  school,  has 
been  objected  to  by  many  on  this  ground,  and  with 
more  appearance  of  reason  than  the  teaching  of 
doctrines  in  Sabbath  schools.  And  yet  I  have  never 
found  any  great  difficulty  in  either  case.  There  is 
no  difficulty  in  teaching  the  children  of  any  school 
a  great  deal  of  the  Bible — not  excluding  our  own 
views  of  its  doctrines,  and  yet  not  offend  'parents 
even  of  the  most  fastidious  sort.  But  we  are  not 
driven  to  the  necessity  of  doing  even  this.  Much, 
very  much  may  be  done  without  trenching  on  doc- 
trines. Besides,  children  are  not  very  fond  of  them  ; 
as  every  experienced  teacher  must  have  observed  for 
himself. 

Here  I  wish  to  introduce  an  experiment  of 
teaching  from  the  Bible  in  one  of  our  common 
schools,  which  will  illustrate  the  point  to  which  I 
am  directing  your  attention,  as  well  as  many  others 


202  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

of  minor  importance.     The  account  of  the  experi- 
ment is  given  in  the  teacher's  own  words : 

"  On  commencing  that  experiment,  my  great  fear 
was  that  I  should  at  once  encounter  contested  doc- 
trinal points,  and  chiefly  those.  The  rule  adopted 
required  a  certain  number  of  pupils  first  to  raise  a 
question  on  the  portion  of  the  Bible  which  was  read. 
It  was  a  rule  adopted  in  relation  to  all  other  books 
also,  and  a  leading  object  w^as  to  secure  previous 
attention  to  the  lesson  read  ;  or  if  not,  then  to  secure 
that  attention  during  the  reading.  I  was  relieved 
from  my  fear  of  doctrinal  questions,  in  some  degree, 
during  the  first  exercise  we  attempted.  The  chap- 
ter described  the  case  of  Naaman  the  Syrian ;  and, 
contrary  to  all  expectation,  I  w^as  not  called  on  to 
harmonize  God's  purposes  w^ith  man's  agency  in  the 
curing  of  that  unhappy  leper.  The  only  question 
proposed  was  this ; — '  What  w^as  there  so  valuable  in 
the  soil  of  Judea,  as  to  make  a  mule's  burden  of  it 
a  present  worth  Naaman's  asking  for  V  And  though, 
for  ray  life  I  could  not  answer  it,  yet  it  awakened 
an  interest  in  the  class  and  the  teacher  not  known 
before.  The  method  adopted  was  finally  to  require 
each  pupil  to  raise  a  question,  and  to  refer  the  ques- 
tion raised  by  the  older  pupils  to  other  pupils,  to  be 
answered  at  the  close  of  the  exercise,  or  the  next 
day. 

"  Questions  of  interest  continued  to  arise  in  this 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  203 

class — still  not  involving  doctrines — such  as  the  fol- 
lowing :  Why  did  Jesus  call  Judas  friend,  (when 
he  said  to  him,  Friend  whence  earnest  thou  hither  ?) 
knowing  him  as  he  did  to  be  an  enemy  ?  What 
was  meant  by  saying,  '  This  poor  widow  has  cast  in 
more  than  they  all  V 

"  Such  was  the  interest  excited  by  an  exercise 
so  novel,  that  the  questions  raised  were  marked ; 
and  the  review  proves  most  abundantly  the  position 
that  doctrinal  questions  are  almost  the  last  to  come 
up  in  a  school  of  children  under  sixteen  years  of 
age." 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  questions  which 
are  brought  refer  to  the  simple  definition  of  words, 
especially  among  little  children.  It  is  affecting  to 
remark  how  much  they  usually  pass  over  without 
understanding  it,  when  a  single  w^ord  of  explanation 
would  make  all  clear. 

"  A  very  bright  boy  of  six  years  of  age  on  read- 
ing the  passage,  They  filled  a  sponge  with  vinegar 
and  put  it  upon  an  hyssop,  for  him  to  drink,  asked 
who  hyssop  was,  that  had  got  to  drink  it.  Another, 
when  reading  of  Simon  Zelotes,  asked  what  Zelotes 
meant.  Usually  the  teacher  does  not  know,  and 
often  cannot  conjecture,  what  difficulties  the  child 
may  have — a  fact  showing  the  importance  of  en- 
couraging the  child  to  ask  questions,  rather  than 
ttach  him. 


204  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

"  Such  questions  as  the  following  have  comjc  up 
in  our  school,  and  would  be  likely  to  come  up  in 
every  other  ;  and  what  teacher  could  not  be  trusted 
to  answer  them  ?  And  what  shall  be  said  of  the 
cruelty  of  the  parent  or  teacher  who  could  withheld 
the  answer  1 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  '  I  trow  not ;' — 
*  Avenge  me  of  mine  adversary  ;' — '  If  I  have  taken 
any  thing  by  false  accusation,  I  restore  him  four 
fold;' — 'He  must  needs  go  through  Samaria;'  why 
must  he  ? — '  An  austere  man  ;' — '  The  chief  priests 
and  scribes  feared  the  people  ;'  why  did  they  ? — 
'  As  some  spake  of  the  temple,  how  it  was  adorned 
with  goodly  stones  and  gifts,  he  said,'  &c.;  what 
were  the  stones  and  gifts  ? — Meaning  of '  kinsfolk  V 
— '  This  fellov^'  perverteth  the  nation  ;'  what  is 
that  ?  What  is  a  '  centurion  V — '  If  they  do  these 
things  in  the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the 
dry  V  &c. 

"  By  following  a  course  like  this,  the  teacher 
wall  sometimes  be  met  with  questions  of  a  character 
differing  somewhat  from  the  foregoing,  requiring  a 
more  labored  explanation,  and  leading  to  useful  and 
perhaps  serious  reflections,  and  yet  they  will  still  be 
questions  which  will  involve  no  doctrines  that  could 
well  be  tortured  into  a  sectarian  character.  I  allude 
to  questions  which  would  arise  from  such  passages 
as  the  following  : 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  205 

" '  Buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and  with- 
out price ;' — '  If  these  should  hold  their  peace,  the 
stones  would  immediately  cry  out;' — 'Whosoever 
shall  fall  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken ;  but  on 
w^homsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  will  grind  him  to  pow- 
der ;' — '  Till  I  make  mine  enemies  my  footstool ;' — 
'  Which  devour  widows'  houses,  and  for  a  pretence 
make  long  prayers;' — '  A  prophet  hath  no  honor  in 
his  own  country  ;' — '  Which  were  born  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man, 
but  of  God ;' — '  Many  believed  in  his  name,  when 
they  saw  the  miracles  which  he  did;'  — 'Whoso 
drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again,  but  he  that 
drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall 
never  thirst  V  " 

Now  what  this  teacher  has  done  in  this  expe- 
riment, I  have  done  partially,  many  times;  and 
Avhether  to  avoid  the  discussion  of  doctrines  or  not, 
I  believe  it  to  be  richly  worth  the  trial  by  most  Sab- 
bath school  teachers. 

One  grand  exercise,  both  in  the  Sabbath  school 
and  the  common  or  district  school,  consists  in  re- 
quiring our  pupils  to  select  as  many  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture as  they  can  which  encourage  or  enforce,  for 
example,  a  particular  virtue,  or  condemn  a  particu- 
lar vice.  Thus  the  members  of  a  class  might  each 
be  required  to  collect  and  mark,  on  a  piece  of  pa- 
per, all  the  passages  in  the  Bible  which  condemn 

18 


206  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

swearing.  Not  that  they  would  be  able  to  collect 
all,  in  half  an  hour  or  an  hour ;  but  there  are  few,  it 
is  believed,  who  would  not  find  some  more  or  less 
— and  there  would  usually  be  one,  two,  or  three 
members  of  a  class  who  would  be  apt  to  procure 
quite  a  long  list.  With  this  list,  and  a  Bible  in 
hand,  the  passages  referred  to  are  examined  by  the 
teacher,  and  if  he  thinks  proper,  are  recited  or  read 
by  the  pupils  who  select  thero. 

Such  an  exercise  has  very  many  advantages, 
especially  if  the  selected  passages  are  committed  to 
memory.  If  a  teacher  were  really  disposed  to  keep 
clear  of  doctrinal  points,  he  might  do  it  in  this  way, 
without  difficulty.  I  could  select  thousands  of  Bible 
lessons,  which  would  not,  and  could  not  by  possi- 
bility, raise  an  objection  on  the  ground  of  sectarian- 
ism, in  the  mind  of  any  person  of  common  sense  and 
common  understanding. 

I  might  ask  them  to  select  all  the  passages  in 
the  Bible  which  hold  out  promises  of  various  kinds  ; 
as  the  promise  of  long  life,  health,  riches,  wisdom, 
present  and  future  happiness,  &c.  I  might  require 
them  to  collect  all  the  passages  which  contain 
threatenings  against  particular  sins  ;  all  the  pas- 
sages which  encourage  the  various  virtues,  as  hu- 
mility, mercy,  charity,  peace-making,  self-denial, 
&c. ;  the  names  of  all  the  good  persons  mentioned 
in  the  Bible ;  the  names  of  all  the  bad  men  and 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  207 

women  ;  the  names  of  all  the  prophets ;  the  names 
of  all  the  pious  women ;  the  names  of  all  the  per- 
sons who  dwelt  at  particular  places,  as  at  Jerusalem, 
or  Bethlehem,  or  Nazareth,  or  Capernaum  ;  or  who 
did  particular  things,  as  receiving  the  Savior  into 
their  houses,  taking  great  pains  to  see  him,  minis- 
tering to  him,  &c. 

Indeed  I  am  sometimes  inclined  to  think  there  is 
no  better  method  of  teaching  the  Bible  in  a  direct 
manner  than  this ;  and  I  earnestly  recommend  it  to 
every  teacher.  He  may  connect  the  inculcation  of 
doctrines  with  even  these  lessons ;  but  he  will  not 
be  compelled  to  do  so. 

My  own  method  of  teaching  the  older  classes  of 
Sabbath  schools,  or  what  are  usually  called  Bible 
classes,  as  well  as  the  usual  adult  classes  of  our 
churches,  is  usually  something  like  the  following  : 

We  take  up  as  a  topic,  for  example,  the  life  of  a 
particular  individual ;  such  as  Moses,  Joseph,  Ahab, 
or  Peter ;  or  the  travels  of  an  individual  who  was 
distinguished  in  this  way,  as  Elijah,  Paul,  Silas,  or 
Luke  ;  or  the  account  of  a  city,  as  Jerusalem,  Baby- 
lon, Nineveh,  Cesarea,  &c. ;  or  particular  events,  as 
the  flood,  or  the  journeyings  of  the  Israelites,  the 
events  of  the  day  of  Pentecost,  or  the  shipwreck  of 
Paul. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  the  members  of  the 
class  are  expected  to  study,  rather  than  commit  to 


208  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

memory  merely,  the  various  parts  of  Scripture  which 
contain  the  information  required.  The  teacher, 
however,  sometimes  aids  them  in  making  the  selec- 
tion, or  points  out  to  them  particular  books,  maps, 
or  commentaries  in  which  to  find  explanations,  illus- 
trations, or  suggestions.  When  they  come  together, 
he  presents  his  views  of  the  subject,  in  a  familiar 
manner,  occasionally  asking  them  questions,  or  en- 
couraging them  to  present  their  difficulties. 

It  is  true  that  I  do  not  in  this  way  bring  the 
minds  of  lazy  pupils  into  activity,  so  much  as  if  I 
pursued  a  more  popular  course,  such  as  that  by  way 
of  question  and  answer.  For  in  this  latter  way 
even  the  indolent  will  do  a  little.  It  is  by  no  means 
difficult  to  connect  an  answer  mechanically  with  a 
question  in  a  question-book.  Still,  whatever  the 
indolent  pupil  does  learn  or  acquire  in  the  way 
which  I  have  described,  and  which  I  regard  as 
preferable,  instead  of  being  acquired  mechanically 
or  arbitrarily,  or  in  the  usual  way  of  task-work,  is 
acquired  with  pleasure,  and  with  some  degree  of 
understanding. 

This  latter  course  also  involves  most  of  the  ex- 
cellencies and  many  of  the  forms  of  the  collateral 
explanatory  methods  which  I  have  recommended 
for  younger  pupils.  For  I  take  pains  to  explain 
terms,  remove  difficulties,  locate  places  on  the  map, 
and  give  much  incidental  instruction,  whether  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  209 

lesson  consists  primarily  of  biography,  travels,  his- 
tory, or  any  thing  else. 

After  hearing  what  has  been  said  in  this  and 
the  previous  lecture,  the  question  I  know  will  be 
apt  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  many  ;  If  these  views  of 
Sabbath  school  teaching  be  correct,  "  who  is  suffi- 
cient for  the  work  V  A  question  I  am  always  glad 
to  hear ;  for  it  implies  at  least  a  desire  for  future 
progress.  Dr.  Watts  says.  It  is  a  sign  of  some  good 
degree  of  improvement  when  we  begin  to  discover 
how  weak  and  unwise  we  are. 

Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  work  of  sustaining 
a  Sabbath  school  is  a  great  work.  But  the  time  has 
arrived,  in  the  history  of  our  world,  when  great 
things  are  expected,  and  therefore  great  things  must 
be  attempted.  It  is  idle  to  expect  the  millennial 
glory  of  the  world,  as  many  of  us  do,  w^ithout  at- 
tempting to  do  more  to  hasten  it.  For  depend  upon 
it,  this  glad  time  will  never  come  to  us  by  miracle  ; 
and  it  is  to  be  the  result,  under  God  the  Holy  Spirit, 
of  human  effort  and  human  instrumentality,  or  it 
will  never  come. 

No  one  should  engage  in  the  Sabbath  school  till 
he  is  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  missionary  spirit ; 
and  ready,  to  the  utmost  of  his  means  and  opportu- 
nities, to  spend  himself  and  be  spent  in  the  cause  of 
Christ.  I  am  in  no  wise  sure  that  it  does  not  require 
as  much  self-denial,  if  not  quite  as  much  self-sacri- 
18* 


210  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

fice  to  be  a  missionary  at  home — in  the  family,  the 
common  school,  or  the  Sabbath  school — as  it  does  to 
be  such  in  Ceylon,  or  Bui  mah,  or  in  the  interior  of 
Africa. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  however,  a  great  work  is  re- 
quired, at  the  present  day,  of  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher.  He  is  to  be  to  the  young  people  of  his 
charge,  what  the  minister  should  be  to  those  who 
are  older,  at  least  in  some  respects.  He  is  to  be  to 
them  a  spiritual  father.  He  is  to  be  holy  before 
them  in  all  manner  of  conversation  and  conduct ; 
that  by  his  example  he  may  win  them  to  the  same 
resemblance  to  the  Father  who  is  in  heaven,  which 
he  aspires  to  himself.  To  this  end  he  must  labor  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  as  the  Scriptures  say  ;  and 
if  need  be,  must  reprove,  rebuke  and  exhort,  with  all 
long-suffering.  He  must  feel  the  responsibility 
which  attaches  to  his  sacred  function.  Mind,  he 
must  feel,  needs  to  be  fed  ;  and  he  must  be  careful 
to  select  for  it  the  appropriate  food.  Souls — im- 
mortal souls — are  given  him  in  charge  to  train  for 
the  skies,  and  to  point  thither. 

Yet  great  and  difficult  as  this  work  may  be,  let 
him  not  shrink  from  it.  Why  should  he  ?  Though 
ready  to  say.  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things,  yet 
let  the  consideration  but  serve  to  stimulate  him  to 
greater  energy  and  self-denial.  There  are,  it  seems 
to  me,  many  great  and  precious  promises  to  cheer 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  211 

and  to  encourage  him.  God,  by  the  influence  of 
his  Holy  Spirit,  is  with  him  ;  the  Savior,  while  feed- 
ing his  lambs,  is  with  him  ;  angels  and  seraphs  be- 
hold him ;  and  should  he  be  the  means  of  bringing 
back  a  single  stray  lamb  of  the  flock  to  the  true  fold 
of  Christ,  they  tune  their  harps  anew,  and  cause 
their  songs  to  be  heard,  as  it  were,  in  every  part  of 
the  heaven  of  heavens — Jehovah's  immediate  but 
vast  domain.  Friends  of  Sabbath  schools,  never 
forget  that  they  who  turn  many  to  righteousness, 
whether  they  are  young  or  old,  are  to  shine,  in  the 
moral  firmament,  as  stars  forever  and  ever. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DUTIES  OF  SUPERINTENDENTS  AND   TEACHERS. 

§  1.    COMMON   DUTIES    OF    RELIGIOUS    TEACHERS. 

Religious  teachers,whetherof  the  Sabbath  school  or  elsewere, 
should  haveh  gh  aims — Motives  to  exertion  suggested  by 
Mr.  Todd — Siudy  of  the  Bible  —Study  of  Commentaries 
and  other  books  — Particu'ar  neces^ity  of  an  acquaintance 
with  sacred  geography. — Weekly  meetings  for  studying 
the  lesson  in  concert. — Prayer  meetings  for  prayer. — 
Punctuality. — Teaching  by  example. — The  influence  of 
Piety. — Aptness  lo  leach.— Re  viewing  the  lessons. 

I  AM  to  speak,  in  this  section,  of  the  common  duties 
and  common  responsibilities  of  superintendents  and 


212  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

teachers.  And  first  I  arn  to  say  something  of  the 
high  moral  standing  they  ought  to  maintain. 

No  Christian  at  the  present  day  ought  to  be  at 
all  satisfied  with  present  attainments.  But  while 
this  remark  is  applicable  to  all  Christians,  it  is 
especially  so  to  those  who  hold  stations  of  responsi- 
bility in  the  church  or  elsewhere.  It  is  so  to  super- 
intendents and  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools. 

Is  it  not  a  very  great  error  to  suppose,  as  many 
are  apt  to,  that  Noah,  Joseph,  David,  Daniel,  John 
and  Paul,  stand  at  such  a  distance  from  us  as  to  be 
inimitable  ?  For  my  part,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  we  do  very  wrong  to  view  them  in  this  light. 
1  can  never  believe  that,  though  they  were  great 
and  good  men  for  the  times  in  which  they  lived, 
they  would  stand  out  in  such  relief  from  the  rest  of 
society,  were  that  society  as  it  should  be. 

Nor  have  I  a  doubt  that  every  Christian  of  these 
days,  with  the  light  and  knowledge  and  piivileges 
of  our  times,  ought  to  be  as  holy,  absolutely  so,  as 
the  best  of  those  holy  men  of  old  were.  They 
would  not  of  course,  even  then,  stand  out  as  such 
prodigies  of  excellence  in  our  times,  as  those  men 
were  in  theirs  ;  but  they  would,  most  undoubtedly, 
be  found  to  be,  in  many  respects  at  least,  quite  in 
advance  of  the  average  of  modern  Christians. 

I  feel  quite  confident  that  if  every  Christian 
really  thought  it  to  be  his  duty  to  be  as  good  as 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  213 

Joseph  or  Paul  or  John,  he  would  make  much 
greater  progress  than  he  now  does,  in  the  Divine 
life.  It  is  not  enough  to  admit  the  truth  of  what  I 
am  now  saying  ;  there  are  very  many  among  us  who 
go  thus  far.  Yet  so  little  practical  hold  has  such  a 
belief  on  them,  that  they  never  seem  to  make  much 
effort  to  rise  to  the  height  to  which  they  so  readily 
admit  they  might  attain. 

Let  there  be  a  change  among  us  in  this  particu- 
lar. Let  every  Christian  feel  himself  bound  to  be 
as  good  at  least  as  Paul  was — I  would  say  in  fact 
far  better.  The  morality  of  Christ — the  piety  rather 
— should  be  his  model,  instead  of  that  of  Paul. 
True  it  is  right,  as  Paul  himself  intimates,  that  we 
should  be  followers  of  him,  as  far  as  he  was  a  fol- 
lower of  Christ.  Let  every  Christian  feel  bound,  I 
say,  to  be  as  good  as  Paul ;  let  him  feel  ashamed 
before  God  and  man  if  he  is  not  so. 

Now  one  means  of  becoming  what  Paul  and  the 
Savior  were,  so  far  at  least  as  the  latter  is  imita- 
ble,  is  to  lead  the  life  which  they  led.  And  no  class 
of  men  have  better  opportunities  for  doing  so  than 
parents  and  teachers — including  ministers  under  the 
term  teachers.  They  that  turn  many  to  righteous- 
ness are  to  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever.  The  Sab- 
bath school  teacher  is  in  this  respect  highly  favored. 
He  has  an  excellent  opportunity  for  making  advan- 
ces in  piety.     If  he  does  not  reach  the  summit  of 


214  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

holiness  which  Paul  reached,  while  in  this  world — 
nay,  if  he  does  not  rise  in  due  time  vastly  higher — 
then  he  is  certainly  very  much  in  fault.  Give  Saul 
of  Tarsus  the  opportunities  for  missionary  labor,  and 
consequently  for  self-denial  and  self  sacrifice,  which 
the  modern  Sabbath  school  teaches^:  enjoys — with 
the  general  social,  civil  and  religious  privileges  of 
the  latter  -  and  what  think  you  would  be  the  result  1 
Most  certainly  a  person  who  would  stand  as  much 
in  advance  of  the  average  Christians  of  modern 
days,  as  Paul  of  Tarsus  in  the  first  century  stood  in 
advance  of  his  converted  countrymen. 

One  consideration  should  weigh  with  Sabbath 
school  teachers  which  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
seen  urged  except  by  the  Rev.  John  Todd,  in  his 
"  Sabbath  School  Teacher ;"  nor  has  he — while  he 
has  stated  the  thing — made  himself  very  intelligible. 
He  alludes  to  the  fact  as  he  calls  it,  that  the  partial 
application  of  the  Gospel  to  the  present  condition 
of  mankind  imparts  a  fearful  physical  energy,  which 
proves  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing;  except  in  so 
far  as  moral  influence  can  be  thrown  into  the  bal- 
ance against  it.  He  is  undoubtedly  right ;  but  he 
should  have  been,  as  it  seems  to  me,  more  fearless  in 
his  illustrations. 

He  says  it  is  done,  1st,  by  calling  more  minds 
into  action,  or  enlarging,  as  it  were,  very  rapidly 
the  sura  total  of  human  intellect ;   2,  by  stimulating 


■^^ 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  215 

that  increased  mass  of  intellect ;  3,  by  elevating 
the  mass  of  population,  so  that  instead  of  spending 
their  energies  upon  low  pleasures,  puerile  sports,  or 
brutal  contests,  they  turn  them  into  higher  channels; 
and  thus  a  mighty  physical  and  intellectual  strength 
is  created.  It  is  as  if  the  bodily  and  mental  powers 
of  an  individual  were  increased  in  a  surprising  de- 
gree, without  any  increase  of  his  moral  powers — 
and  even  with  a  diminution  of  the  latter,  because  in 
the  full  and  free  play  of  the  accumulated  bodily  and 
mental  energies  of  the  individual,  the  moral  faculties 
would  be  left  to  dwindle  away  for  want  of  exercise. 
It  has  long  been  a  maxim  that  a  little  know- 
ledge is  a  dangerous  thing ;  but  perhaps  Mr.  Todd 
is  the  first  who  has  boldly  asserted  that  a  little 
Christianity  is  in  any  way  dangerous.  Yet  I  see 
not  how  it  can  be  otherwise,  in  the  circumstances 
to  which  he  refers ;  and  only  regret  that  he  has 
repressed,  as  he  twice  says  he  has,  his  philosophical 
explanations.  He  should  have  spoken  out.  I  have 
not  time  to  go  so  deeply  into  the  subject,  in  a  work 
like  this,  even  if  I  understand  him  fully,  as  to  render 
the  doctrine  very  intelligible ;  and  must  therefore 
merely  advert  to  it,  and  say,  that  if  well  established, 
its  use  to  Sabbath  school  teachers  is  to  urge  them 
to  bring  up  the  subject  of  moral  education — so  long 
neglected — till  the  moral  energies  of  society  prove 
a  healthy  balance  to  its  physical  and  intellectual 


216  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

energies,  and  then  will  the  whole  unite  in  operating 
as  favorably  as  it  hitherto  has — even  on  Mr.  Todd's 
own  principles — unfavorably. 

But  Sabbath  school  teachers  should  not  only 
secure  a  high  moral  standing — they  should  also  study 
their  duties.  Till  quite  lately  there  were  few  books 
on  this  subject  to  be  obtained.  But  since  the  publi- 
cation of  the  works  of  Hall,  Abbot,  Pachard,  Todd, 
and  Newcomb,  no  teacher  either  in  the  Sabbath  or  dis- 
trict school  has  just  cause  to  complain  of  a  want  of 
books  on  this  subject.  The  "  Sabbath  School  Teach- 
er" should  at  all  events  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
one  who  desires  not  merely  to  pass  in  the  crowd, 
but  to  do  his  whole  duty  — who  not  only  seeks  the 
approbation  of  man,  but  fears  God. 

But  above  all,  should  superintendents  and  teach- 
ers study  their  Bible.  One  of  the  principal  advan- 
tages of  the  Sabbath  school,  as  I  have  already  attempt- 
ed to  show,  consists  in  its  tendency  to  enlighten  the 
minds  and  warm  the  hearts  of  teachers.  It  compels 
them  to  do  good  ;  and  doing  good  cannot  fail  to 
bring  down  a  blessing.  It  compels  them  also  to 
study  the  Bible,  more  or  less.  Now  it  has  always 
struck  me  that  there  was  no  way  in  which  an  indi- 
vidual would  make  so  much  progress  in  Bible  sci- 
ence, in  a  given  time,  as  in  studying  it  in  reference 
to  the  duties  of  a  Sabbath  school  teacher. 

Some  I  know  get  along  with  the  business  of  a 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  217 

teacher,  and  seem  to  be  but  little  wiser  or  better  for 
it.  But  it  should  not  be  so.  Bible  dictionaries, 
Commentaries,  Antiquities,  with  pictures,  maps,  &c. 
&c.,  are  so  common  in  these  days,  and  withal  so 
cheap,  that  I  hardly  know  how  to  forgive  the  teach- 
er who  wholly  neglects  to  avail  himself  of  the  assist- 
ance which  they  proffer. 

And  yet  I  w^ould  study  every  Sabbath  school 
lesson  in  the  first  place  without  them,  with  nothing 
but  the  Bible  and  my  own  natural  unperverted 
common  sense.  Most  teachers  make  too  much  of 
commentators  when  they  once  acquire  the  habit  of 
using  them.  Instead  of  using  them  as  an  aid  in 
thinking  about  the  lesson,  they  suffer  them  to  think 
for  them. 

In  the  use  of  some  books  in  connection  with 
the  study  of  the  Bible,  not  much  thinking,  I  know, 
is  required,  as  in  the  use  of  books  on  manners  and 
customs,  antiquities,  geography,  topography,  history, 
&,c.  Here  we  do  just  as  is  always  done  in  matters 
of  mere  science ;  we  are  compelled  to  take  most 
things  upon  trust.  We  cannot  go  back  eighteen 
hundred  years  to  know  the  manners  and  customs 
which  then  prevailed ;  and  if  we  could,  not  all  of  us 
could  visit  the  Eastern  world  to  ascertain  facts  for 
ourselves.  We  must  trust  where  we  cannot  know, 
in  these  as  well  as  in  other  matters. 

Nevertheless,  I  still  say,  in  regard  to  all  our 
19 


218  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

notes  and  commentaries  on  the  Bible,  that  I  would 
be  exceedingly  cautious  in  their  use.  I  would  in- 
deed use  them  ;  but  not  till  I  had  first  brought  my 
own  understanding  to  the  task  of  deciphering  the 
meaning  of  the  text.  Studied  in  this  secondary 
cautious  way,  they  are  as  valuable  as,  when  studied 
in  the  more  common  way,  they  prove  injurious. 

The  late  Joseph  Emerson,  a  distinguished  min- 
ister and  teacher,  gives  the  following  advice  to  the 
teachers  of  our  day  schools,  and  it  is  scarcely  less 
appropriate  to  the  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools.  He 
was  speaking  of  the  various  means  to  be  devised  for 
interesting  our  pupils. 

"  One  method,  for  this,"  he  says,  "  is  faithfully 
to  study  every  lesson  previous  to  attending  to  reci- 
tation. Though  you  may  have  a  good  general  ac- 
quaintance with  the  branch,  though  you  may  have 
heard  the  same  recitation  twenty  times  before,  you 
should  still  devote  particular  attention  to  the  exer- 
cise before  meeting  your  pupils,  not  only  to  refresh 
your  mind  with  thoughts  before  familiar,  but  to  gain 
new  and  more  extended  views  on  the  subject.  This 
will  excite  an  interest  which  merely  reviewing  for- 
mer ideas  and  reflections,  can  by  no  means  inspire," 

So  important,  however,  do  I  regard  a  correct 
knowledge  of  sacred  geography,  in  order  to  a  vivid 
conception  of  every  thing  which  the  lesson  is  design- 
ed to  impart,  that  whenever  the  lesson  contained 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  219 

the  slightest  reference  to  place,  I  would  have  a 
map  before  me,  and  always  refer  to  it.  Nor  is  this 
all.  I  would  not  only  have  a  map,  but  make  one. 
I  never  would  study  a  Bible  lesson  involving  an  ac- 
count of  a  place,  without  making  a  map  of  that 
place  ;  or  at  least  without  examining,  and  if  neces- 
sary, correcting  one  already  made.  Every  teacher 
above  all,  and  if  possible  every  pupil,  ought  to 
have  in  his  mind's  eye  the  places  mentioned  in  the 
Bible,  their  position,  size,  relations,  &c.  Nothing, 
like  this,  will  render  our  instructions  in  the  Bible 
class  or  Sabbath  school  so  interesting— so  full  of 
life,  and  few  things  will  give  our  pupils  more  con- 
fidence in  our  instructions. 

I  am  acquainted  with  some  teachers  who  have 
so  vivid  a  conception  of  Jerusalem,  for  example,  and 
the  adjacent  country,  including  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat,  the  brook  Kidron,  Gethsemane,  Bethphage, 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  the  valley  of  the  son  of 
Hinnom,  that  when  they  come  to  allude  to  these 
places,  in  conversation  with  their  classes,  their 
manner  is  so  engaging  and  so  interesting,  and  their 
descriptions  are  so  vivid,  that  the  pupils  often  begin 
to  suspect  they  have  actually  been  on  the  spot ; 
and  sometimes  raise  the  question  whether  they  have 
been  or  not.  In  any  event  their  instructions  are 
so  lively,  that  they  never  fail  to  interest  their  classes; 
while  the  classes  around  them  engaged  on  the  same 


220  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

lesson  will  often  sit  vacant  or  be  disposed  to  play. 
I  do  not  therefore  believe  it  possible  to  overestimate 
the  value  of  this  kind  of  instruction. 

I  remember  what  is  said  by  his  biographer,  of 
the  late  Pres.  Dwight.  So  much  had  he  studied 
the  various  employments  of  mankind,  and  so  much 
had  he  observed  what  was  going  on  in  the  world 
around  him,  that  when  he  fell  into  the  company  of 
men  of  particular  employments  and  occupations, 
they  all  took  him  to  belong  to  their  own.  And  so 
much,  above  all,  had  he  read  history  and  geography, 
that  when  he  described  a  place,  no  one  doubted  he 
had  been  on  the  spot  and  made  his  own  observations. 
So,  in  a  good  measure,  was  it  with  the  late  Dr. 
Payson.  Thus  should  it  be  with  Sabbath  school 
teachers,  and  the  study  of  sacred  geography. 

What  I  have  said  here  of  the  duty  of  teachers 
in  general,  applies  of  course  specially  to  superin- 
tendents, &c.,  with  the  more  force  from  the  fact  that 
so  many  teachers  engage  now  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
and  will  be  likely  to  continue  to  engage  in  it,  who 
will  not  be  willing,  in  this  respect,  to  come  up  to 
the  dignity  of  their  calling  and  office. 

In  order  to  understand  all  the  difficulties  of  a 
Sabbath  school  lesson,  the  teachers  ought  to  meet  at 
least  once  a  week  to  study  it  together.  I  believe 
there  are  few  who  would  grudge  the  time  spent  in 
this  way,  were  they  but  once  fairly  habituated  to  it* 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  221 

I  have  known  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools  to  walk 
two  or  three  miles,  both  in  pleasant  and  in  stormy 
weather,  during  the  severest  winters,  in  order  to  be 
present  at  these  weekly  meetings. 

Sabbath  school  teachers  should  be  men  and  wo- 
men of  prayer.  Not  of  public  prayer  merely,  but 
of  private  and  family  prayer.  They  will  accom- 
plish little  for  the  rising  generation,  in  any  of  the 
popular  forms  of  doing  good,  who  do  not  often  en- 
ter into  their  closets,  and  there  commune  with  their 
own  spirits  and  the  Father  of  spirits  ;  and  as  they 
hold  this  sort  of  communion,  find  a  flame  of  sacred 
love  kindling  within  them,  till  it  causes  their  very 
hearts,  like  those  of  the  disciples  who  were  going 
to  Emraaus  soon  after  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord,  to 
hum  within  them.  Here,  on  the  most  sacred  altar 
which  is  to  be  found  under  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion, they  ofifer  up  the  most  acceptable  sacrifice — 
that  of  a  subdued  heart,  a  broken  and  a  contrite 
spirit.  Going  hence  to  the  Sabbath  school,  they 
will  stand  a  chance  of  doing  some  good  to  their 
children  in  the  name,  as  it  is  sometimes  said,  of  the 
holy  child  Jesus. 

It  is  customary,  in  many  places,  for  the  teachers 
of  Sabbath  schools  to  hold  a  monthly  concert  of 
prayer  for  the  cause  in  which  they  are  engaged  j  in 
addition  to  which  many  have  weekly  prayer-meet- 

19* 


222  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

ings.  All  these  may  be  advisable — the  monthly 
meeting  I  am  sure  is. 

I  believe  there  is  nothing  on  which  the  Chris- 
tian world  lay  so  much  stress,  that  is  so  little  prayed 
for  as  the  Sabbath  school ;  and  this  not  only  in  pub- 
lic, but  in  private.  Not  only  Christians  in  general, 
but,  in  too  many  instances,  ministers — nay,  even 
Sabbath  school  teachers  themselves — most  unac- 
countably and  unpardonably  neglect  prayer  on  this 
subject,  even  if  they  do  not  actually  throw  stumbling- 
blocks  in  the  way  of  the  prayers  of  others.  These 
things,  my  friends  and  brethren,  ought  not  so  to  be. 
They  must  not  long  be  so.  If  the  Sabbath  school 
is  a  blessing,  or  is  in  the  providence  of  God  design- 
ed to  become  such,  it  must  be  cared  for  and  prayed 
for.  And  if  no  minister,  church  member,  parent, 
teacher,  &c.,  has  love  enough  for  it  to  pray  for  it, 
let  it  be  given  up  at  once.  It  is  little  better  than 
solemn  mockery  to  continue  to  sustain  an  institution 
merely  that  it  may  have  a  name  to  live,  while  it  has 
no  living,  active,  vital  principle — as  was  the  case 
with  the  church  in  Sardis,  in  the  time  of  John  the 
writer  of  the  book  of  the  Revelation. 

Sabbath  school  teachers  ought  moreover  to  be 
punctual.  Lord  Nelson,  it  is  said,  made  it  a  rule 
when  he  had  an  appointment  to  meet  a  person,  to 
be  present  just  fifteen  minutes  before  the  time  j  and 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  223 

Washington  and  n:\any  other  great  men  have  made 
it  a  rule,  from  which  they  seldom  if  ever  departed, 
to  be  at  the  place  appointed,  a  little  before  the  time 
of  meeting;. 

But  how  is  it  with  the  Sabbath  school  teacher  1 
I  speak  now  not  so  much  in  regard  to  his  attend- 
ance at  the  teacher's  monthly  or  weekly  meetings 
for  prayer,  but  chiefly  in  regard  to  his  attendance  at 
the  special  Sabbath  school  exercises.  Is  it  of  less 
importance  that  he  should  be  punctual,  than  it  was 
that  Nelson  or  Washington  should  be?  Is  the  en- 
terprize  in  which  he  is  engaged  less  holy,  or  less 
desirable  ?  This  I  am  sure  no  one  will  pretend. 
Nor  will  it  be  said  to  be  more  difficult  for  the  Sab- 
bath school  teacher  to  be  punctual,  than  it  was  for 
the  highest  officer  of  the  British  navy,  or  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  armies  of  the  United  States 
of  America  to  be  so. 

We  talk  much,  as  Christians,  of  moral  or  spiritual 
warfare — of  fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith,  and  re- 
pulsing the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil — and  with 
a  view  to  gain  an  advantage  over  the  enemy,  by 
carrying  the  war  into  his  own  countiy,  we  enter  the 
Sabbath  school.  But  do  we  act  the  part  of  good  sol- 
diers, and  above  all  of  good  officers,  under  the  great 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  when,  instead  of  being  on 
the  ground  punctually,  we  come  in  one,  two,  three, 


224  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

five,  and  even  twelve  or  fifteen  minutes  too  late  ? 
And  yet  nothing  is  more  common. 

Had  Nelson,  or  Washington,  or  Napoleon,  been 
as  negligent  in  regard  to  punctuality  as  many  of  our 
Sabbath  school  teachers  are,  it  would,  for  aught  we 
know,  have  often  occasioned  the  defeat  of  their  en- 
tire fleet  or  army.  And  are  we  sure  the  loss  is  not 
greater,  in  some  instances,  by  neglect  of  punctuality 
in  regard  to  the  Sabbath  school  than  any  loss  which 
could  possibly  be  sustained  by  a  naval  or  military 
commander  ?  We  certainly  can  never  know  that  it 
is  not.  What  is  the  loss  or  gain  of  a  world,  politi- 
cally speaking,  to  that  of  a  single  soul  ? 

If  it  is  asked  how  souls  can  be  lost  by  want  of 
punctuality  in  regard  to  the  duties  of  the  Sabbath 
school,  1  reply,  by  inducing  the  belief  in  the  hearts 
of  our  pupils  that  we  are  hypocritical,  and  do  not 
feel  the  power  of  that  religion  which  we  are  anx- 
ious to  recommend  to  them.  Children  are  much 
more  acute  in  their  observations  of  character  than 
some  of  us  are  aware,  and  know  much  more  readily 
if  we  are  in  earnest  to  do  them  good.  And  the  con- 
clusion to  which  the  young  child  may  come,  that  the 
Sabbath  school  teacher  is  heartless  or  insincere,  may 
be  the  means — I  have  no  doubt  often  is  the  means — 
of  the  destruction  of  his  immortal  spirit. 

Indeed  I  have  very  little  doubt  that  the  time 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  225 

will  come,  in  the  history  of  our  world,  when  the 
superiority  of  moral  victories  over  mere  physical 
ones  will  be  so  apparent  and  undeniable,  that  many 
a  gospel  warrior  will  rank  inconceivably  higher 
among  his  fellow-men  than  Alexander,  or  Caesar,  or 
Napoleon  ;  or  even  than  Washington.  Indeed  I 
cannot,  even  now,  look  at  the  character  of  the  bet- 
ter sort  of  military  men,  living  or  dead,  with  half  the 
interest  with  which  I  look  upon  the  faithful  and 
skilful  Sabbath  school  teacher,  or  regard  them  as 
half  as  great  men.  What  is  a  Washington  or 
a  La  Fayette,  to  a  Robert  Raikes  or  a  Harlan 
Page  ?  A  mere  star  of  second  or  third  magnitude, 
and  destined  ere  long  to  hold  a  place  still  less  con- 
spicuous, that  is,  relatively.  For  while  the  best  politi- 
cal men  and  warriors  will  come  to  be,  in  the  com- 
parison, like  mere  stars,  the  moral  warrior  will  be 
a  sun,  and  will  shine,  with  increasing  brightness, 
forever  and  ever. 

The  remarks  of  the  last  paragraphs  remind  me 
of  another  highly  important  duty  of  the  Sabbath 
school  teacher,  which  is  to  set  his  pupils  a  proper 
example.  Example  is  better  than  precept,  is  an  old 
maxim  ;  and  as  true  as  it  is  old.  And  yet,  while  its 
truth  has  been  admitted,  time  immemorial,  its  impor- 
tance seems  hardly  to  have  been  understood  by  the 
Christian  world,  even  to  the  present  hour.     Above 


226  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

all,  has  it  never  been  understood  and  practically  re- 
garded in  Sabbath  schools. 

Here,  teaching  by  precept  seems  to  be  all  that  is 
attempted.  I  speak,  however,  of  Sabbath  schools  of 
the  present  time,  and  in  our  own  country ;  for  when 
these  schools  were  first  instituted  by  Robert  Raikes, 
and  even  since  that  time,  in  a  few  places,  it  has 
been  an  object  to  bring  into  action,  in  its  whole 
power,  a  holy  and  heavenly  example.  But  this,  I 
still  say,  has  been  the  exception,  so  far  as  I  am 
acquainted ;  and  not,  by  any  means,  the  general 
rule. 

I  would  that  every  teacher,  in  order  to  have  his 
example  what  it  should  be,  were  decidedly  pious. 
This  I  have  repeatedly  stated  already ;  nor  can  it  be 
too  often  repeated.  I  know  much  is  said  of  admit- 
ting amiable  and  excellent  young  men  and  women 
into  the  Sabbat hschool,  in  order  that  the  duties  of 
the  school  may  prove  the  occasion  of  their  conver- 
sion ;  and  I  know  too,  that  such  has  often  been  the 
result.  And  yet  I  am  not  convinced,  on  this  account, 
that  they  ought  to  have  been  admitted.  On  the 
contrary,  I  believe  that  they  ought  not  to  have  been ; 
and  that  if  a  few  are  incidentally  converted  by  being 
admitted  to  the  rank  of  teachers  in  the  Sabbath  school, 
there  are  evils  enough  growling  from  it,  directly  or 
indirectly,  to  overbalance  the  good  which  is  done. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  227 

The  teacher  should  not  only  be  a  man  of  piety, 
but  one  of  extraordinary  piety.  Teachers,  as  I  have 
again  and  aQ:ain  said,  should  be  selected  from  the 
church  members,  and  should  be  the  very  best  men 
among  them.  It  is  true  that  they  must  be  apt  to 
teach,  as  a  fundamental  qualification  ;  but  they  must 
also  be  apt  to  teach  right,  especially  in  teaching  by 
example.  For  we  are  not  merely  required  to  per- 
mit our  light  to  sJiine  before  men,  but  to  let  it  so 
shine — in  other  words,  in  such  a  manner — that  others 
seeing  our  good  works  may  be  induced  to  glorify  the 
Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

Now  who  lets  his  light  shine  properly,  lets  it 
shine  all  the  while.  Some  people  who  even  think 
themselves  Christians  appear  to  suppose  that  they  are 
not  required  to  let  their  light  shine  the  whole  time. 
If  it  shine,  and  shine  rightly  on  the  Sabbath,  and  on 
a  few  extraordinary  occasions  of  the  week  day,  they 
seem  to  think  it  sufficient.  But  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher  should  recollect  that  he  is  not  only  continu- 
ally under  the  Divine  eye,  but  almost  continually 
under  the  eye  of  his  pupils.  His  example  is  ob- 
served all  the  day  long.  The  teacher  does  so  or  so, 
I  have  heard  made  the  plea  for  WTong  doing  by 
many  a  pupil ;  but  it  is  oftener  made  the  excuse  in 
reality,  than  by  open  acknowledgment. 

Especially  should  Sabbath  school  teachers  re- 
member they  are  undergoing  the  scrutiny  of  hun- 


2£8  THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 

dreds  of  eyes  on  the  Sabbath,  particularly  in  the 
Sabbath  school  room.  While  there,  they  should  set 
a  double  watch  over  all  their  ways,  words,  and  ac- 
tions. Nothng,  in  word  or  deed,  should  escape 
them  that  can  be  construed  into  wrong,  in  the  slight- 
est degree.  Here,  if  any  where  this  side  the  eter- 
nal world,  should  the  conscientious  teacher  who  is 
aware  of  his  responsibility,  remember  that  he  is 
treading  on  holy  ground. 

But  the  light  which  is  poured  upon  him  by  the 
Sun  of  righteousness,  should  not  only  be  reflected 
in  a  proper  manner,  and  that  continually  ;  it  should 
be  a  bright  and  cheerful  light.  With  many,  every- 
thing connected  with  religion  seems  to  wear  a  som- 
bre hue  ;  and  the  light  which  is  reflected  from  them 
has  the  same  dark  shadow.  This  is  exceedingly 
unfortunate.  Religion  should  impart  cheerfulness 
to  its  possessor ;  and  the  cheerfulness  which  he 
feels  should  be  reflected  upon  others.  Grave,  but 
yet  cheerful — eminently  so — should  be  his  motto, 
especially  in  the  Sabbath  school.  His  presence 
should  continually  cheer  and  encourage  his  pupils  ; 
never  render  them  gloomy  or  depressed.  The  ex- 
ample of  gloomy  Christians  can  never  allure,  but 
must  forever  repel  the  young,  whether  in  the  Sab- 
bath school  or  elsewhere.  I  wish  those  who  have 
the  care  of  children,  everywhere,  would  remember 
that  without  a  relish  for  divine  things,  children  will 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  229 

forever  remain  without  it,  despite  of  the  force  of 
precept  or  example  so  long  as  there  is  nothing  in- 
viting in  that  example.  The  fear  of  wo  remediless 
may  drive  a  few  to  good  things ;  but  it  will  be  only 
a  few ;  and  the  remainder  will  be  hardened. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  importance  of  punctuality, 
to  the  teacher  himself;  but  it  should  be  remembered, 
that  it  is  as  a  matter  of  example  that  punctuality  is 
especially  demanded.  If  you  are  punctual,  your 
pupils  may  be  expected  to  be  so ;  at  least  after  the 
lapse  of  a  little  time.  If  you  are  not  punctual,  de- 
pend upon  it,  they  will  not  be.  Here,  if  nowhere 
else,  example  is  exceedingly  powerful — it  is  almost 
omnipotent. 

I  have  said  that  if  the  teacher  is  punctual,  his 
pupils  may  be  expected  to  be  so.  This  is  certainly 
the  general  rule  ;  and  to  it  will  probably  be  found 
as  few  exceptions  as  to  any  other  general  rule 
which  could  be  named.  Of  this  the  following  anec- 
dote, though  it  relates  to  a  day  school  rather  than  a 
Sabbath  school,  will  be  an  appropriate  example. 

A  teacher  was  once  employed  to  take  the  charge 
for  one  year  of  a  large  and  somewhat  unmanage- 
able district  school,  in  a  central  part  of  one  of  our 
New  England  townships.  He  soon  found  that  one 
of  the  worst  habits  he  should  be  compelled  to  en- 
counter was  the  utter  want  of  punctuality  which 
prevailed.     Some  of  the  pupils  were  present  at  the 

20 


230  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

hour  of  opening  the  school,  but  others  were  from 
half  an  hour  to  an  hour  later.  He  resolved  on  set- 
ting them  the  example  of  commencing  his  school 
always  by  the  time ;  and  not  only  of  doing  so  by 
the  time,  but  in  reality  long  before  the  time.  He 
was  at  the  school  room  usually  from  half  an  hour 
to  an  hour  before  the  time,  talking  with  the  chil- 
dren, telling  them  stories,  or  giving  them  instruc- 
tion. They  soon  began  to  find  out  that  the  teacher 
was  always  there  in  good  season,  and  that  the  pu- 
pils who  were  there  with  him  seasonably  were  very 
happy  in  his  society.  This  being  generally  known 
produced  quite  a  revolution  in  the  state  of  things; 
and  it  was  but  a  little  while  before  nearly  every  pu- 
pil in  the  school  was  punctual  to  the  time  of  being 
in  his  seat. 

The  evils  of  want  of  punctuality  on  the  part  of 
teachers,  both  as  regards  example  and  its  influence 
on  the  teachers  themselves,  is  thus  portrayed  by 
Mr.  Todd,  in  his  Sabbath  School  Teacher ; — and 
the  representation  is  made  with  very  great  fidelity 
to  truth : 

"  JVo  one  can  be  a  good  teacher,  who  is  not  a 
punctual  one.  Every  thing  valuable  in  a  class  de- 
pends, under  God,  upon  this.  In  my  own  range  of 
observation  and  experience  I  have  never  seen  a 
blessing  follow  the  labors  of  a  teacher  who  failed  in 
this  particular.     As  a  certain  consequence  of  his 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  231 

delinquency,  the  children  become  dilatory  in  their 
attendance.  I  do  not  value  the  labors  of  any  teacher 
who  is  unwilling  to  step  out  of  his  path  of  ease  or 
convenience,  in  order  to  fulfill  the  responsibilities 
which  he  has  voluntarily  assumed  in  his  Master's 
vineyard. 

"  Teachers  err  here  frequently  through  want  of 
consideration.  Suppose  a  school  consists  of  150 
scholars,  and  the  teachers  25.  Suppose  several 
teachers  came  so  late  that  the  superintendent  must 
delay  opening  the  school  for  five  minutes.  This 
seems  a  short  time  to  wait.  But  take  the  175  per- 
sons which  compose  the  school,  and  multiply  it  by 
five,  and  you  have  875  minutes  lost.  Suppose  this 
to  take  place  once  on  every  Sabbath,  and  the  loss 
for  one  year  is  758  hours  ;  and  suppose  the  same  set 
of  teachers  continue  this  for  five  years,  and  it  would 
be  3790  hours.  If  now  we  suppose  the  habit  to  be 
by  them  perpetuated  in  the  school,  and  transmitted 
down,  and  above  all,  woven  into  the  habits  of  hun- 
dreds of  pupils,  and  become  a  part  of  their  charac- 
ter, no  arithmetic  can  compute  the  evils  of  such  a 
habit. 

"You  come  late  this  morning  to  your  class. 
The  results  are  that  your  scholars  are  disappointed; 
they  take  their  seats,  see  the  school  opened,  and  feel 
lonely,  having  no  teacher.  The  superintendent  feels 
at  a  loss  what  to  do.     He  sees  the  lambs  without  a 


*r 


232  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

guide.  He  waits  as  long  as  he  dares  to  wait.  He 
goes  round  the  house  to  find  somebody  whom  he 
may  lay  hands  on  and  press  into  the  service.  Find- 
ing none,  he  has  to  come  back,  and  take  the  class, 
and  unite  it  most  reluctantly  on  all  sides  with  some 
other  class.  The  whole  school  is  disturbed  by  the 
process.  He  kindly  says  he  presumes  the  teacher  is 
sick.  This  is  done,  and  you  soon  come  hurrying  in, 
with  that  quick  noisy  step  which  always  indicates  a 
consciousness  of  being  too  late.  The  class  must 
again  be  disunited  and  taken  to  their  own  seats, 
W'hile  the  school  is  again  disturbed,  and  the  mortified 
superintendent  sees  you  are  any  thing  but  sick. 
Let  me  assure  you  that  you  have  attracted  notice — 
shown  that  you  were  of  some  importance ;  but  you 
have  lowered  yourself  in  the  estimation  of  every  one 
in  the  house. 

"  A  want  of  punctuality  amounts  to  robbery.  A 
short  time  since,  at  a  village  in  the  neighborhood 
of  London,  a  committee  of  eight  ladies,  who  man- 
aged the  concerns  of  an  institution  which  had  been 

O 

founded  for  the  relief  of  the  neighboring  poor, 
agreed  to  meet  on  a  certain  day,  at  12  o'clock  pre- 
cisely. Seven  of  them  attended  punctually  at  the 
appointed  hour ;  the  eighth  did  not  arrive  till  a  full 
quarter  of  an  hour  after.  She  came  in  according  to 
the  usual  mode,  wath,  '  I  am  very  sorry  to  be  be- 
hind  in  the  appointed  time ;  but  really  the  time 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  233 

slipped  away  without  my  being  sensible  of  it;  I 
hope  your  goodness  will  excuse  it.'  A  Quaker 
lady  replied,  '  Had  thyself  only  lost  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  it  would  have  been  merely  thy  own  concern ; 
but  in  this  case,  the  quarter  of  an  hour  must  be 
multiplied  by  eight,  as  we  have  lost  a  quarter ;  so 
there  have  been  two  hours  of  useful  time  sacrificed 
by  thy  want  of  punctuality.'  " 

I  have  made  this  long  quotation  in  order  to  im- 
press the  more  strongly  on  all  who    hear  me  the 
great  importance  of  punctuality  as   a  matter  of  ex- 
ample.    To  what  is  here  quoted  I  might  have  added 
that  a  teacher  can  never  obtain  implicit  and  unhes- 
itating obedience  in  his  class,  unless  he  is  a  punctual 
man  in  every  respect.     And  one  of  the  points  to  be 
most  strenuously  urged,  as  well  as  most  strenuously 
inforced  both  by  precept  and  example,  in  the  family, 
in  the  day  school,  in  the   Sabbath  school,  and  in 
fact  almost  everywhere  else,  is  the  habit  of  punc- 
tuality.    Let  us  never  forget,  however,  what  is  so 
often  repeated  by  Cousin,  "  As  is  the  teacher  so  is 
the  school ;"  and  if  a  teacher  find  his  pupils  want- 
ing in  punctuality,  let  him  look  into  himself  for  the 
cause,  and  in  himself  he  will  almost  always  find  it. 
Much  is  said  of  an  aptness  to  teach,  or  as  some 
call  it  a  peculiar  tact  at  the  employment.     I  ac- 
knowledge the  difference  among  men  in  this  respect ; 
still  1  do  not  think  it  is  so  much  the  gift  of  nature 
20* 


234  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

but  that  most  persons  may  come  to  possess  it,  if  they 
heartily  desire  it.  If  a  person  really  loves  teaching 
and  loves  the  minds  and  the  souls  of  his  pupils,  he 
can  hardly  fail  to  become  skilled  in  his  employment. 
Only  give  me  the  young  man  or  young  woman — 
or  the  old  man  or  woman,  for  I  care  little  which — 
who  loves  the  business  of  teaching,  and  I  will  insure 
you  the  successful  teacher. 

But  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools  should  have  an 
eye,  above  all,  to  the  moral  character  of  their  pu- 
pils. This,  as  I  have  elsewhere  observed, — the  for- 
mation of  moral  and  religious  character, — is  or  should 
be  the  great  object  and  end  of  their  instructions. 
For  this  it  is  that  they  should  endeavor  to  make 
their  lessons  interesting  and  attractive  ;  and  for  this 
should  they  make  every  possible  effort,  self-denial 
and  self-sacrifice. 

There  is  one  thing,  in  connection  with  the  duties 
of  the  Sabbath  school,  which  is  very  often  omitted, 
but  which  should  always  be  attended  to ;  I  mean  a 
review  of  the  lessons.  It  is  of  comparatively  little 
service  for  a  pupil  to  commit  a  chapter  or  part  of  a 
chapter  or  a  psalm  or  hymn  to  memory,  or  be  able 
to  answer  fluently  and  correctly  a  set  of  printed 
questions,  if  this  is  the  sura  total — the  end  of  the 
matter.  And  yet  how  generally  is  it  so  !  How 
few  Sabbath  school  pupils  ever  think  of  their  lesson 
again,  after  they  have  once  recited  it !     And  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  235 

reason  is  that  they  are  not  required  to  remember 
it.  There  should  be  therefore  something,  from 
week  to  week,  in  the  form  of  review.  Especially 
should  every  leading  point  of  the  lesson  be  reviewed. 

The  best  time  fur  this,  1  think,  is  at  the  com- 
mencement of  each  succeeding  Sabbath  school  exer- 
cise, and  before  entering  upon  the  new  lesson.  It 
need  not  take  up  much  time — not  more  than  five 
minutes.  True,  more  than  five  minutes  may  be  spent 
in  this  way ;  but  I  would  not  recommend  to  the 
teachers  to  spend  more  than  this.  Besides  if  the 
pupils  distinctly  understood  that  they  were  liable  to 
be  questioned  on  each  preceding  lesson,  they  would 
take  more  pains  than  they  now  do  to  remember  it ; 
so  that  the  review  would  become  less  and  less  ne- 
cessary. 

Superintendents  and  teachers  should  be  careful  to 
visit  their  pupils  at  their  respective  homes.  I  know 
this  duty  is  generally  admitted  ;  but  then  I  also  know 
that  it  is  as  generally  neglected.  The  benefits  of 
this  visiting  to  all  parties  would  be  very  great ;  and 
I  am  surprised  that  so  little  of  this  sort  of  work  is 
done,  even  by  teachers  who  are  truly  benevolent. 
Perhaps  they  are  thinking  of  visits  which  are  too 
formal.  Whereas  the  more  free  the  visit  is  from  for- 
mality, the  better  for  every  practical  or  Christian 
purpose. 

Such   visits    would  give  a   fine  opportunity  to 


236  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

cultivate  the  spirit  of  Christian  love  and  union  be- 
tween the  parents  and  children  and  the  Sabbath 
school  and  its  officers.  Many  a  breach  in  the  church 
already  made,  might  no  doubt  in  this  w^ay  be 
healed ;  and  many  another  breach  be  prevented ; 
and  thus,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  might  the 
cause  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  made  to  prosper. 

§  H.    PARTICULAR    DUTIES    OF    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Habits  of  order  must  be  secured. — Mount  Vernon  school  in 
Boston. — Moral  Suasion. — Example  of  inflicting  punish- 
ment.— Anecdote  of  Mr.  Taylor. — "  Soul"  of  the  system. 
— Keeping  a  Record. — Making  Reports. 

Having  now  dwelt  at  considerable  length  on 
duties  common  to  superintendents  and  teachers,  I 
shall  venture  a  few  remarks  on  the  particular  duties 
■which  belong  to  superintendents. 

Habits  of  order  should  be  observed  and  even 
cultivated  in  every  Sabbath  school.  "  Let  all  things 
be  done  decently  and  in  order,"  says  Paul ;  and  his 
injunction  will  apply  as  well  to  the  Sabbath  school 
as  to  the  church.  Order,  it  is  said  moreover,  is  the 
first  law  of  heaven. 

But  in  establishing  order  and  conducting  the 
school  in  a  proper  manner  with  reference  to  the 
formation  of  good  habits  is  obviously  and  in  no 
small  degree  the  duty  of  the  superintendent. 

I  may  be  found  to  differ  from  many  when  I  al- 
lude to  the  importance  of  cultivating  good  habits  in 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  237 

Sabbath  schools.  But  I  am  not  wholly  alone  in 
this  matter.  Many  who  have  written  on  the  sub- 
ject have  insisted  on  order  as  indispensable.  Schol- 
ars have  sometimes  been  excluded  from  the  Sabbath 
school  for  being  disorderly,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  it  ought  always  to  be  so.  Disorder  is  bad 
enough  in  any  school  and  at  any  time,  but  especially 
in  a  Sabbath  school  and  on  the  Sabbath  day. 

By  good  order,  however,  I  do  not  mean  perfect 
silence.  This  in  a  large  school  would  be  impossi- 
ble. I  mean  rather  that  every  thing  should  be  done 
at  the  proper  time,  and  all  things  should  be  kept  in 
their  proper  place.  Every  scholar  should  be  in  his 
seat  at  the  moment  of  opening  the  school ;  and 
should  not  leave  it,  except  in  extraordinary  cases, 
nor  then  without  the  permission  of  his  teacher,  till 
the  school  closes.  Nor  should  he  leave  then  in 
very  great  haste. 

I  never  before  felt  the  importance  of  order  so 
much  as  I  did  on  visiting  the  Mount  Vernon  school 
in  Boston,  some  six  years  ago,  when  under  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Abbott.  Every  thing  and  every 
exercise  had  its  time  and  place;  and  every  thing 
was  attended  to  and  kept  in  its  place.  The  pupils 
did  not  seem  to  yield  to  the  will  of  the  teacher  so 
much  as  to  the  order  of  the  school ;  or  rather  to 
the  hour  of  the  day.  There  was  a  clock  in  sight  of 
all ',  and  the  hours  for  each  exercise  were  pasted  up 


238  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

SO  plainly,  that  they  could  not  be  mistaken.  When 
the  hour  assigned  to  an  exercise  arrived,  that  exer- 
cise was  attended  to,  at  once.  Neither  the  pupils 
nor  the  teacher  seemed  to  think  it  possible  there 
could  be  any  delay.  If  they  were  engaged  in  some- 
thing else  which  it  was  ever  so  desirable  to  finish, 
even  if  they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  recitation,  it 
made  no  difference.  All  seemed  to  obey  the  clock, 
or  the  hour  indicated  by  the  clock,  rather  than  the 
teacher. 

Now  it  should  be  so,  in  a  good  degree,  in  every 
school,  whether  week  day  school  or  Sunday  school ; 
but  especially  the  latter.  Neither  the  superintend- 
ent nor  the  teachers  of  a  Sabbath  school  can  think 
for  a  moment  of  inflicting  punishment  of  any  kind, 
especially  corporal  punishment,  on  a  pupil.  And 
yet  the  school  must  be  governed,  and  the  superin- 
tendent and  teachers  must  secure  this  point.  I 
think  the  point  most  effectually  gained  by  producing 
such  a  state  of  public  sentiment  in  the  school,  if 
possible,  as  that  established  by  Mr.  Abbott. 

Nevertheless  order,  I  say  again,  should  be  se- 
cured; and  if  the  force  of  moral  suasion  should 
be  insufficient,  something  else  must  be  resorted  to. 
What  that  something  else  should  be,  remains  to  be 
determined ;  and  perhaps  must  always  be  left  to  the 
judgment  of  those  most  intimately  concerned  in  the 
case — the  superintendent   and   teachers.     Circura- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  239 

stances  are  ever  so  varying  and  variable,  that  what 
would  be  best  in  one  school,  might  be  doubtful — 
perhaps  injurious — in  another. 

Much  may  be  done,  I  think,  towards  establish- 
ing order  by  making  each  pupil  feel,  if  he  can  do  it, 
that  he  has  power  greatly  to  add  to  the  good  condi- 
tion of  the  school,  if  he  will,  by  his  example ;  and 
that  in  this  respect,  we  are  all  teachers,  the  younger 
as  well  as  the  older.  I  w^ould  not  undertake,  how- 
ever, to  fasten  a  conviction  of  this  sort  on  the  minds 
of  the  pupils  so  much  by  means  of  long  lectures,  i.  e. 
long  conversations,  as  by  a  hint  now-  and  then  ;  and 
especially  by  pointing  directly  at  cases,  should  any 
such  come  under  their  observation,  as  there  usually 
will,  in  a  large  school. 

I  have  been  much  pleased  with  an  anecdote  re- 
lated by  Rev.  John  Todd,  in  regard  to  the  methods 
which  were  adopted  in  Washington  to  get  rid  of  a 
bad  boy  in  the  Sabbath  school,  and  restore  order. 
As  some  who  hear  me  may  hereafter  be  tried  in  the 
same  way  as  was  the  teacher  of  the  unruly  boy  in 
question,  I  have  copied  the  anecdote. 

"  In  a  flourishing  school  connected  with  one 
of  the  churches  in  the  city  of  Washington,  there 
was  a  very  rude  and  unmanageable  boy.  As  all 
mild  measures  failed  to  make  him  better,  it  was 
determined  that  he  should  be  sent  away  from 
the  school.     To  make  a  deeper  and  more  lasting 


240  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

impression  on  himself  and  all  present,  it  was  also 
determined  that  this  act  of  discipline  should  be  ad- 
ministered in  a  formal  and  solemn  manner.     Ac- 
cordingly, whilst  the  exercises  of  the  school  were 
going  on,  the  superintendent  knocked  upon  the  table 
and  called  for  attention.     He  directed  the  teacher  of 
the  class  to  which  the  little  culprit  belonged  to  take 
him  by  the  hand  and  lead  him  out  into  the  view  of 
the  whole  school.     This  done,  the  superintendent, 
in  a  solemn  manner,  told  him  he  had  been  so  bad  a 
boy  that  the  teachers  were  under  the  painful  neces- 
sity of  sending  him  away  from  the  school,  and   go 
he  must.     After  a  few  words  of  admonition  and  ad- 
vice, he  gave  out  an  appropriate  hymn,  and  the 
whole  school  sung  it  standing.     The  teacher,  by  the 
direction  of  the  superintendent,  then  took  the  boy 
by  the  hand,  led  him  out  of  the  school  through  the 
vestibule,  through  the  inclosure,  and  through   the 
gate,  and  then  closing  the  gate  upon  him,  let  him 
go.    The  boy  wept ;  the  teachers  and  scholars  wept ; 
and  the  whole  scene  was  most  affecting.     A  salu- 
tary influence  was  exerted  upon  the  whole  school 
by  this  transaction,  and  it  is  hoped  a  lasting  and 
most  beneficial  effect  was  produced  upon  the  little 
exile  himself.     For  who  should  come,  the  very  next 
Sabbath  morning,  but  the  same  little  boy,  entreating 
with  tears  that  he  might  be  taken  back,  and  promi- 
sing that  he  would  henceforw^ard  be  a  good  boy  ! 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  241 

The  teachers  were  not  unmoved  by  his  tears  of 
penitence.  They  received  him  again  into  the  school ; 
and  since  his  restoration,  he  has  been  altogether 
another  boy." 

This  perhaps  is  the  extent  to  which  the  discipline 
of  the  Sabbath  school  should  be  carried,  when  the 
crime  is  that  of  mere  disorder,  and  even  this  in 
rougher  hands  than  those  just  mentioned  might  fail 
entirely  of  its  good  effect.  A  great  deal  depends  on 
gentleness,  in  all  matters  which  pertain  to  discipline. 
I  was  much  instructed  at  the  Seamen's  chapel  one 
Sunday  in  Boston.  In  the  midst  of  the  services  a 
drunken  and  probably  boisterous  sailor  entered,  and 
staggering  along  the  broad  aisle  and  beginning  to 
talk  strangely,  the  proper  officers  proceeded  forth- 
with to  take  him  out  of  the  house.  "  Softly, 
brethren  J  softly,  brethren,"  said  the  minister,  Mr. 
Taylor,  himself  once  a  seaman ;  "  lead  him  out 
gently."  His  soft  words  most  evidently  had  their 
fall  effect.  The  sailor  became  more  quiet,  and  sub- 
mitted without  resistance  to  their  requirements,  and 
did  not  return  to  make  any  more  disturbance. 

But  a  superintendent  must  not  only  secure  and 
preserve  suitable  order  and  discipline,  he  must  be 
as  it  were  the  soul  of  the  whole.  As  mankind  are 
constituted  there  must  be  a  head  to  every  body. 
But  this  remark,  true  everywhere,  is  especially  true 
of  the  Saobath  school.  I  have  said  that  there  must 
21 


242  THE    SAEBATH    SCHOOL 

be  a  head,  but  I  do  not  mean  that  there  may  not  be 
more  than  one  superintendent  to  a  schooh  Indeed  I 
think  there  ought  to  be  at  least  two,  the  second  to 
act  in  case  of  the  absence  or  sickness  of  the  first ; 
and  in  addition  to  tiiese  I  think  a  female  superin- 
tendent is  also  highly  desirable. 

However,  be  this  matter  regulated  as  it  may, 
there  should  be  a  soul  to  the  system,  and  this  soul 
should  be  the  active,  energetic,  almost  everywhere 
present  influence  of  those  who  superintend.  They 
should  have  an  eye  to  every  thing  which  is  going 
on,  in  doors  and  out.  Bringing  the  teachers  to- 
gether once  a  week,  providing  for  their  instruction, 
planning  lessons  for  the  pupils,  selecting  books  for 
both  libraries — that  for  the  teachers  and  that  for  the 
pupils,  classing  the  pupils,  taking  care  that  every 
class  has  a  teacher  and  every  casual  vacancy  is  sup- 
plied, attending  to  order  and  discipline,  opening  and 
closing  the  school,  &c.,  &c.,  are  duties  which,  in 
ordinary  circumstances,  devolve  upon  superintend- 
ents ;  and,  if  they  are  faithful,  consume  a  good  deal 
of  their  time,  not  only  on  the  Sabbath,  but  also  on 
the  week  day. 

Superintendents  should  also  keep  a  faithful  re^ 
cord  of  the  proceedings  of  the  school  from  Sabbath 
to  Sabbath ;  not  in  a  merely  formal  manner,  as  is 
now  too  often  done,  but  in  a  manner  which,  to  those 
who  examine  it,  conveys  ideas.     Thus,  to  note  that 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  243 

such  a  Sabbath  the  school  was  opened  with  prayer 
by  the  superintendent,  and  that  there  were  present 
so  many  male  and  so  many  female  teachers  and  pu- 
pils ;  and  to  relate  the  same  story  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath,  is  of  very  little  service.  Let  the  superintend- 
ent note  all  this  to  be  sure  (for  I  would  have  him, 
by  all  means,  put  down  the  outlines)  ;  but  let  him,  at 
his  leisure,  fill  up  a  considerable  space  with  remarks 
on  errors,  mistakes,  &c.,  with  facts  and  anecdotes 
relating  to  the  character  and  progress  of  the  school ', 
such  as  serve  to  show  its  real  condition  and  spirit. 
A  record  thus  kept  would  be  instruction  to  every 
teacher ;  nor  am  I  sure  it  would  not  be  so  to  the 
pupils,  provided  it  was  read  over  weekly,  imme- 
diately after  the  beginning  of  each  particular  exer- 
cise. 

I  deem  it  the  duty,  also,  of  every  superintendent 
to  converse  with  the  whole  school  a  few  minutes 
of  each  Sabbath,  and  perhaps  ask  them  questions. 
Sometimes  these  questions  may  be  put  to  the  whole 
school ;  sometimes  to  particular  classes  ;  and  some- 
times to  particular  individuals.  The  replies  should 
be  in  a  clear  audible  voice,  not  in  whispers  or 
shrieks.  Sometimes  they  may  be  requested  to  raise 
their  hands  to  express  their  opinion,  or  perhaps  to 
rise  ;  or  having  risen,  to  be  seated. 

If  visitors  are  present  in  the  school,  it  is  the  busi- 
ness of  *he  superintendent  to  pay  some  attention  to 


244  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

them,  or  to  appoint  an  individual  for  that  purpose, 
which  is  preferable.  This  should  be  the  case,  I 
mean,  when  any  attention  at  all  is  paid  to  visiters. 
I  would  not  have  it  so,  however.  I  would  have  the 
school  always  open  to  the  reception  of  visiters ;  but 
they  should  observe  for  themselves,  and  take  care  of 
themselves.  So  I  think  it  should  be  in  regard  to 
every  school,  at  least  every  public  school. 

One  duty  of  the  superintendent  remains  to  be 
mentioned  ;  it  is  that  of  making  out  the  yearly  re- 
port of  his  school.  Nothing  can  be  more  loose  than 
these  returns  often  are  ;  and  yet  there  are  few  things 
about  which  we  should  be  more  careful.  To  report 
so  many  scholars  when  a  part  of  those  same  scholars 
are  reported  by  other  superintendents  ;  to  report  so 
many  teachers  when  a  part  of  those  teachers  are 
never  present,  or  were  present  last  year  but  are  ab- 
sent this  year,  while  their  names  have  never  yet 
been  stricken  from  the  list ;  to  report  that  the  school 
is  flourishing  when  all  that  is  done  consists  in  a  few 
dry  recitations  of  what  is  but  little  understood,  while 
the  health  is  being  constantly  impaired  and  the 
heart  growing  constantly  harder  all  the  time;  to 
report  such  a  number  of  conversions  in  the  Sabbath 
school — so  many  teachers  and. so  many  pupils — 
when  those  conversions  are  all  which  have  taken 
place  during  the  whole  year  in  connection  with  the 
church  and  congregation,  and  have  been  owing  as 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  245 

much  to  other  circumstances  and  other  efforts,  as  to 
the  influences  of  the  Sabbath  school ; — all  this,  I 
say,  and  many  more  things  connected  with  too  many 
of  our  Sabbath  school  reports,  is  very  much  to  be 
regretted,  and  calls  loudly  for  reformation. 

Especially  to  be  regretted  is  it  that  erroneous 
views  should  be  embodied  in  a  report  of  this  kind, 
in  relation  to  the  number  of  conversions  which  have 
taken  place.  I  know  these  representations  are  in- 
advertencies, for  the  most  part ;  seldom,  if  ever,  in- 
tentional. Still  they  are  misrepresentations.  How 
can  it  be  otherwise  ?  From  what  class  of  the  com- 
munity do  conversions  usually  take  place  in  congre- 
gations where  there  is  no  Sabbath  school  ?  Is  it 
not  from  the  very  class  of  which  the  latter  are  made 
up  wherever  they  exist  ?  Nay,  does  it  not  often 
happen  that  when  a  report  says  that  so  many  teach- 
ers and  so  many  pupils  have  been  hopefully  con- 
verted during  the  year,  these  constitute  the  only 
conversions  that  have  taken  place  in  the  whole  con- 
gregation ?  But  have  not  these  selfsame  persons, 
old  and  young,  been  in  the  habit  of  attending  the 
regular  church  services,  the  stated  public  prayer 
meetings,  and  the  prayers  of  the  families  to  which 
they  belong  ?  Who  knows  how  many  of  those  con- 
versions are  fairly  to  be  set  down  as  resulting  from 
the  efforts,  under  God,  of  the  Sabbath  school,  and 
21* 


246  THE    Sx\BBATH    SCHOOL 

how  many  to  the  labors  of  the  parents  at  home,  the 
minister  in  the  pulpit,  &c.  ? 

I  repeat  it,  that  I  may  not  be  misunderstood, 
I  do  not  set  down  the  superintendents  of  Sabbath 
schools  as  guilty  of  intentional  wrong  in  this  matter ; 
far  from  it.  It  is  an  oversight  on  their  part,  but  it  is 
an  oversight  which  it  is  desirable  should  not  exist. 
They  should  at  least  state  the  fact  that,  though  there 
have  been  such  a  number  of  conversions,  it  is  impos- 
sible in  the  nature  of  things,  as  it  truly  is,  to  say 
how  far  these  results  are  fairly  attributable  to  the 
Sabbath  school,  and  how  far  to  other  influ- 
ences. 

And  so  of  that  part  of  the  report  which  relates 
to  the  attendance.  It  should  be  continually  kept  in 
view,  both  in  the  reports  of  superintendents  and  in 
the  general  report  made  by  the  secretaries  of  Sab- 
bath school  societies,  unions,  &c.,  that  there  is  room 
for  considerable  inaccuracy  in  these  documents  on 
account  of  what  I  have  here  named.  So  that  if 
the  error  cannot  be  prevented,  we  should  take  care 
to  send  along  with  it,  to  the  eye  of  the  public,  its 
own  corrective.  This  is  strictly  the  public  due, 
in  fact ;  but  this  is  not  all.  The  enemies  of  our  re- 
ligion  set  down  all  these  things  as  a  species  of  white 
lying,  and  are  sure  to  make  the  most  of  them  in 
showing  that  our  religion  is  not  what  it  professes  to 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  247 

be ;  though  nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  truth 
than  to  identify  rehgion  with  the  errors  and  follies 
of  its  professors. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


DUTIES  OF  MINISTERS  IN  RELATION  TO  SABBATH 
SCHOOLS. 

§  I.    WHAT  MINISTERS    CANNOT   DO. 

Ministers  who  do  not  believe  in  the  utility  of  Sabbath  schools. 
— Other  ministers — Ministers  cannot  do  everything. — 
Our  unreasonable  demands  upon  ihein. 

What  a  minister  ought  to  do,  in  relation  to 
Sabbath  schools,  depends  as  I  suppose  upon  a  great 
variety  of  circumstances.  It  may  be  his  duty  to  do 
much,  or  little,  or  nothing  at  all.  For  as  the  Sab- 
bath school  is  here  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the 
church  and  congregation,  and  instituted  and  organ- 
ized by  the  church  and  congregation,  and  as  there 
are  a  few  ministers  who  do  not  believe  in  the  use- 
fulness of  Sabbath  schools,  one  of  this  stamp  might 
happen  to  be  connected  with  a  church,  where  there 
was  already  a  flourishing  Sabbath  school,  and  might 
be  expected  to  render  it  his  assistance.  But  would  it 
be  his  duty  to  comply  with  such  a  request  ?  Would 


248  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

we  ask  him  to  do  that  which  we  knew  he  beUeved 
to  be  wrong  ? 

But  there  are  those  who  even  beheve  in  the 
general  usefulness  of  these  schools,  who  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  do  any  thing  of  consequence  to  sustain 
them.  Is  it  asked  why  they  ought  not  ?  Simply 
because  they  have  enough  and  more  than  enough  to 
do  already.  Nothing  is  more  unreasonable  than  the 
demand  made  by  people  now-a-days  upon  some  of 
their  teachers,  especially  their  religious  or  pulpit 
teachers,  they  appear  to  regard  them  as  mere  men  of 
leisure,  having  little  to  do,  but  to  sit  in  their  chairs 
or  on  their  sofas,  and  read  and  write,  and  then  receive 
large  salaries  for  their  services.  The  idea  that  our 
teachers — our  ministers  among  the  rest — are  really 
and  truly  our  hard-working  men,  if  we  have  any 
such  in  the  community,  never  occurs  to  them. 

Now  I  freely  acknowledge  that  we  have  among 
us  both  lazy  schoolmasters  **  and  lazy  ministers. 
Nevertheless  where  either  of  them  are  what  they 
are  expected  to  be,  they  have  no  time  to  be  lazy ; 
and  it  has  been  my  lot  to  know  of  a  very  great 
number  who  had  not  the  disposition  to  be  so. 

Need  I  mention  in  this  place,  preliminary  to  an 
account  of  the  duty  which  ministers  are  supposed  to 
owe  to  the  Sabbath  school,  the  numerous — I  should 
say  the  unreasonable — demands  which  are  made  of 
them? 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  249 

It  is  certainly  enough  for  any  one — a  Belgian  or 
even  an  American  giant  himself  not  excepted  — 
to  write  two  sermons  in  a  single  week  habitually, 
provided  they  are  studied  as  well  as  written.  This 
kind  of  labor — mental  labor,  I  mean — is  exceed- 
ingly exhausting,  although  they  who  have  never 
labored  in  this  way  seem  to  have  no  idea  of  it ;  and 
not  a  few  who  labor  hard  in  this  way  and  suffer  as 
the  consequence,  do  not  seem  to  know  what  ails 
them.  Multitudes  of  ministers  and  teachers  and 
other  literary  men  destroy  themselves  every  year, 
by  this  overtaxing  the  brain  and  nervous  system ; 
when  a  little  less  study  and  a  little  more  exercise 
would  have  been  the  means,  not  only  of  saving  their 
health,  but  of  prolonging  their  lives. 

If  how^ever  to  write  two  sermons  a  week  were 
all  a  minister  had  to  do,  the  case  would  be  very 
much  altered.  I  suppose,  indeed,  that  there  are  few 
if  any  among  us,  who  would  not  injure  their  health 
— and  that  in  a  very  few  years,  too — by  preparing 
two  well  digested  sermons  each  week,  provided  they 
did  nothing  else.  Man  is  not  made  to  do  nothing 
but  study,  any  more  than  he  is  to  do  nothing  but 
work  ;  and  I  hardly  know  which  is  most  destructive, 
to  mind  and  body  both,  than  an  exclusive  devotion 
to  either.  1  think,  however,  that  all  study  produces 
rather  more  of  actual  disease  than  all  work  does ; 


250  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

although  the  latter  makes  me  more  brutal  and 
stupid. 

But  to  return  to  ministers.  If  they  were  merely 
required,  I  say,  to  write  two  sermons  a  week,  and 
this  was  all  they  had  to  do,  our  demands  on  them 
would  not  be  quite  so  exorbitant.  Or  if  we  would 
be  satisfied  with  their  extemporaneous  efforts  a  part 
or  the  whole  of  the  time,  or  with  one  sermon  newly 
written  and  one  which  had  been  preached  before, 
revised  and  modified  for  the  occasion,  they  might 
find  time  to  do  more  still,  than  merely  to  ser- 
monize. 

But  what  are  the  demands  which,  in  point  of 
fact,  we  make  of  them  ?  Let  us  think  the  matter 
over  a  little. 

First,  as  I  have  said  already,  we  require  two 
sermons  of  them.  Secondly,  we  require  them  to 
give  us  extra  sermons,  more  or  less,  lectures,  &c. 
Not  a  few  ministers,  besides  the  two  regular  ser- 
mons of  the  Sabbath,  are  expected  to  preach  Sun- 
day evening,  and  two  evenings  in  the  week  besides, 
or  at  least  one  regular  week  day  evening  lecture. 
Very  few  indeed  get  along  with  less  than  two  extra 
discourses  w'eekly,  which,  though  unwritten,  are  of 
course  by  every  conscientious  minister  more  or  less 
premeditated  or  studied.  Thirdly,  we  require  them 
to  be  ready  for  funeral  services,  marriages,  &c.  j 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  251 

and  to  visit  the  sick.  Fourthly,  they  are  expected 
to  visit,  occasionally,  all  the  families  of  the  parish, 
whether  sick  or  well ;  and  some  are  required  to  visit 
each  family  once  at  least  in  six  months.  This  last 
demand  is  especially  made  by  the  poor,  who  if  not  of- 
ten called  on  will  soon  cry  out,  "  aristocracy."  And 
yet  their  children  and  acquaintance  know  that  the 
last  thing  they  desire  to  see  fairly  in  their  houses  is 
their  minister.  Fifthly,  ministers  are  expected  not 
only  to  visit,  largely,  the  sick  and  the  well — and  the 
schools  into  the  bargain — but  they  must  be  at  home 
always,  to  receive  the  calls  of  all  who  wish  to  see 
them  as  well  as  those  who  only  wish  to  hinder  them; 
and  these  last  in  particular.  For  none  of  those  who 
call  to  see  a  minister  will  so  soon  complain  that  he 
is  absent  unnecessarily,  consulting  his  own  ease  or 
pleasure,  as  those  who,  though  they  have  least  to 
say,  call  oftenest  and  stay  longest.  Sixthly,  they 
must  be  ready  for  every  extra  work  of  charity  which 
comes  along,  and  above  all  to  take  an  active  part  in 
all  the  crusades  which  are  to  be  made  tig-ainst  the 

o 

various  forms  of  vice  which  exist  among  us,  and 
usually  to  take  the  lead  in  them. — Here,  at  any  rate, 
is  a  war  for  them  in  which  and  from  which  there  is  no 
discharge.  They  have  no  alternative  but  to  enlist, 
and  to  enlist  too  as  officers  and  not  as  mere  private 
soldiers,  or  be  denounced  as  unchristian. 

Finally,  they  must  not  only  do  this — the  work  of 


252  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

nearly  half  a  dozen  strong  minded,  able  bodied 
men,  but  they  must  rule  well  their  own  household ; 
for  if  a  minister's  son  or  daughter  turns  out  ill,  once 
in  a  hundred  instances,  it  is  trumpeted  long  and 
loud,  and  a  stigma  fixed  if  possible  on  the  whole 
profession.  Moreover  they  are  expected  now-a-days, 
by  many,  not  only  to  be  men  of  half  a  dozen  lives 
or  more,  but  to  spend  a  pretty  fair  proportion  of  one 
life  in  laboring  in  the  garden  or  the  field,  in  order 
to  preserve  their  health. 

I  would  not  be  too  severe  on  people  of  course, 
but  I  do  think  that  while  we  expect  too  much,  a 
great  deal  too  much,  of  many  other  professions, 
the  common  schoolmaster  for  example — requiring 
even  of  him  to  make  bricks  without  giving  him 
straw — it  is  only  of  the  minister  that  we  require 
absolute  impossibilities.  Of  him  however  we  are 
certainly  apt  to  make  demands  which  not  only 
border  upon  impossibility,  but  which  were  ac- 
tually irnpossible  even  for  an  angel.  No  wonder  so 
many  ministers  live  upon  sheds.  No  wonder  so 
many  break  down  who  attempt  to  go  on.  No  won- 
der a  few  fly  to  the  woods  or  fields  at  once,  rather 
than  make  the  sacrifice  of  reputation,  health  and 
life. 

Now  we  ought  not  to  forget  that  in  making  the 
minister,  w^e  should  not  as  good  Protestants  desire 
to  unmake  the  man  or  the  citizen.     The  minister, 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  253 

though  a  minister,  is  still  or  may  be  a  husband  ;  a 
father ;  the  head  of  a  family  j  a  neighbor  ;  a  citizen. 
All  these  relations  and  positions  imply  duties.  The 
duties  of  the  first  three,  the  domestic  duties,  are  ex- 
ceedingly weighty  in  the  estimation  of  one  who 
knows  as  well  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  ought  to 
know  how  great  a  work  it  is  to  bring  up  our  house- 
holds in  the  fear  of  God — and  in  such  a  way  that 
others  too  may  learn,  from  their  example,  to  fear 
him.  Nor  are  his  duties  as  a  neighbor  or  citizen 
few  or  light ;  to  say  nothing  of  other  possible  con- 
nections, as  brother,  parent,  &c.  Yet  all  these 
things  are  by  many  who  are  far  from  being  Catho- 
lics wholly  overlooked.  Many  of  us  as  truly  and 
as  practically  deny  our  preachers  the  rights  of  ma- 
trimony, and  especially  the  duties  and  privileges 
which  pertain  to  or  grow  out  of  that  institution,  as 
does  the  church  of  Rome.  Of  what  use  is  it  to  per- 
mit this  institution,  by  the  usual  forms,  to  the  minis- 
ter, when  by  our  customs  we  forbid  him  to  perform 
the  duties  which  naturally  grow  out  of  it,  and  which 
ought  ever  to  be  inseparable  from  it  ?  What  is  it  but 
downright,  I  was  going  to  say  impious  mockery  ? 
A  minister  may — nay  tmist — have  a  family,  and  yet 
he  must  have  nothing  to  do,  it  seems,  in  the  educa- 
tion of  his  family.  This  must  be  left  to  a  compan- 
ion, to  domestics  and  to  chance ;  and  to  leave  it  to 
either  or  all  of  these,  as  society  is  now  constituted, 

22 


254  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

is  little  better  than  to  leave  them  to  chance,  merely. 
For  even  the  companion  of  a  minister,  though  a 
worthy  companion,  is  for  the  most  part,  unless  she 
bursts  asunder  the  chains  which  fashion  has  imposed, 
almost  as  much  shut  away  from  her  family  as  her 
husband. 

The  truth  is  that  the  pulpit  duties  of  modern 
ministers  are  altogether  too  great  and  arduous,  at 
least  as  things  are.  There  was  a  time,  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Protestant  church — nay  even  in  the  his- 
tory of  our  own  New  England — when  there  was,  to 
some  churches  at  least,  both  a  preacher  and  a  pas- 
tor. If  so  much  is  to  be  made  of  sermonizing  as 
many  suppose  ;  if  a  minister  is  to  be  required  to 
write,  every  week,  two  new"  sermons, — not  merely 
scrawl  them,  but  write  them  from  the  recesses  of  his 
ow^n  brain, — then  there  ought  to  be,  connected  with 
him,  in  the  parish,  a  pastor  to  perform  the  rest  of 
the  duties.  No  man,  I  say  once  more,  who  has  a 
family  to  provide  for  both  as  respects  body  and  soul, 
and  a  body  and  soul  of  his  own  to  be  duly  managed 
also,  can  do  more  for  a  parish  than  to  study  and 
write  two  sermons  in  a  week — if  they  are  studied 
and  written  as  they  ought  to  be.  I  care  not  if  he 
is  as  strong  as  Hercules  or  Goliah — he  must  event- 
ually suffer  in  the  performance  of  the  task ;  and 
most  men  W'ill  sink  under  the  burden  in  a  very  few 
years. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  255 

But  if  these  things  are  so,  and  if  it  is  a  general 
fact  that  ministers  are  not  only  required  to  do  all 
this,  who  does  not  see,  at  once,  that  it  is  as  idle  as  it 
is  cruel  to  expect  they  can  do  much  for  Sabbath 
schools  were  they  ever  so  favorably  disposed  to- 
wards them  ? 

I  would  not  indeed  have  things  as  they  are.  I 
would  not  have  a  minister,  who  is  at  the  same  time 
a  pastor,  required  to  preach  over  one  sermon  a  week, 
either  on  his  own  account,  or  for  the  well-being  of 
his  hearers.  No  man  can  preach  or  hear  more  than 
one  elaborate  discourse  on  a  Sabbath  to  any  advan- 
tage. If  there  must  be  more  than  one  service  in  a 
day,  I  would  have  the  other  exercise  an  exposition 
of  a  passage  or  of  several  passages  of  the  Bible, 
rather  than  a  regular  sermon. 

Indeed  it  is  my  most  deliberate  conviction  that 
if  the  custom  is  to  continue — of  which,  by  the  way, 
I  have  many  doubts — of  having  such  large  congre- 
gations and  churches,  and  if  the  same  man  is  to  be 
both  preacher  and  pastor,  no  written  sermons  ought 
to  be  expected  or  required  of  him.  During  his  pa- 
rochial visits,  he  should  take  notes  of  the  more  in- 
teresting facts,  and  preserve  memoranda  of  the  more 
interesting  thoughts  which  might  occur  to  him,  and 
these  notes  and  memoranda  of  his  pastoral  visits 
should  furnish  him  with  the  very  material  where- 
with to  rill  up  and  render  interesting  the  extem- 


256  THE   SABBATH    SCHOOL 

poraneous  performance  of  the  following  Sab- 
bath. 

Let  ine  not  be  understood  as  reo;ardino:  it  as  a 
matter  of  indifference  whether  a  minister  has  the 
•power  to  write  a  sermon  or  not,  should  the  case  re- 
quire it.  It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  he  who, 
like  the  good  pastors  of  Waldbach  and  High  Alps, 
knows  how  to  make  the  pastoral  duties  of  the  week 
the  best  preparation  for  the  services  of  the  following 
Sabbath  is  the  very  man  who,  above  all  others, 
should  be  able  to  write  a  sermon.  If  a  man  can 
preach  with  great  acceptance  and  success  extempo- 
raneously, it  appears  to  me  he  ought  to  be  able  to 
write  down  from  his  pen  in  the  study,  what  he  can 
let  fall  from  his  tongue  in  the  sanctuary. 

It  is  such  a  minister,  if  any  one,  who  can  lend 
his  aid  to  sustain  the  Sabbath  school.  It  is  he  alone 
who  can  meet  the  teachers  at  their  weekly  meeting, 
give  them  occasional  lectures  on  their  duties,  take 
charge  of  a  class,  or  act  as  the  general  superintend- 
ent. No  other  person  ought,  as  a  teacher  and  pas- 
tor of  the  flock,  to  attempt  to  add  to  his  duties, 
already  enough  to  press  him  into  the  dust,  the  care 
and  responsibilities  of  the  Sabbath  school.  No  mat- 
ter how  forcibly  the  direction  of  the  Savior  to  Peter, 
"  Feed  my  lambs,"  may  seem  to  sound  in  his  cars, — 
he  has  other  and  pre-existing  engagements.  Your 
lambs  must  be  fed  as  they  can  be.     Let  the  family 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  257 

do  what  it  can,  let  the  Sabbath  school  do  what  it 
can,  and  let  the  district  school  do  what  public  opin- 
ion will  permit ;  but  let  not  the  minister  attempt 
what,  in  the  very  nature  of  things  must  injure  his 
health,  and  perhaps  make  him  in  five  years  a  mere 
invalid — obliged  to  leave  family  and  church,  to  run 
to  the  "  Springs"  or  to  the  "  West  Indies,"  or  across 
the  "  Atlantic,"  in  search  of  what  he  w^ill  seldom 
find,  at  least  till  he  finds  it  beyond  the  grave  ! 

§  II.    WHAT  MINISTERS  CAN  DO  FOR  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 


Preaching  on  Sabbath  schools. — Occasional  lectures. — Ex- 
plaining the  lessons  publicly. — Example  of  the  method 
of  doing  this.— Difficulties  on  account  of  stupid  hearers. — 
Attending  the  weekly  meetings  of  the  teachers. — Views 
of  Mr.  Todd.— Remarks. — Visiting  the  Sabbath  school. 


When  a  minister  can  be  found  who,  believing  in 
the  utility  of  Sabbath  schools,  has  time  to  aid  their 
operations,  there  ai^e  many  w^ays  in  which  he  can  do 
so.  Perhaps  the  first  and  more  important  means  of 
forwarding  these  objects,  is  by  occasional  preaching 
on  the  subject.  For  this,  in  fact,  every  minister  has 
time.  Nor  are  there  many  congregations  that  would 
not  be  both  interested  and  instructed  by  a  discourse 
once  in  six  or  three  months,  on  these  institutions. 

Having  time  for  the  purpose,  he  might  also  give 
lectures  to  the  teachers,  either  occasionally  through- 
out the  year,  or  statedly  at  particular  seasons. 
22* 


258  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

These  lectures  might  be  on  the  duties,  both  o-eneral 
and  particular,  of  the  teachers,  or  they  might  be 
wholly  scientific.  Of  the  last  description,  are  lectures 
on  sacred  history,  geography,  biography,  antiquities, 
manners  and  customs,  and  the  like.  With  the  aid 
of  maps,  charts,  &c.,  or  even  without  them,  great 
good  might  be  done.  Some  might  also — I  know  of 
a  few  such — be  able  to  give  lectures  on  physiology 
and  the  laws  of  health. 

Another  method  which  I  have  known  ministers 
to  adopt  in  aid  of  the  Sabbath  school,  is  to  explain 
the  lesson  which  is  next  to  follow.  Thus,  suppose 
the  Sabbath  school  lesson  for  the  morning  of  a  cer- 
tain day  were  the  first  twenty-one  verses  of  the  third 
chapter  of  John's  gospel,  the  minister  would,  on  the 
Sabbath  next  preceding,  make  a  plain,  practical 
exposition  of  it.  I  say  a  plain,  practical  exposition, 
because  some  ministers  are  too  scholastic  in  their 
manner  of  explaining  things.  Instead  of  spending 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  allotted  them  in  those 
explanations  which  I  have  shown  in  previous  lec- 
tures the  unsophisticated  mind  most  loudly  calls  for, 
and  only  giving  a  due  proportion  of  the  time  to  a 
simple  statement  of  the  doctrines  which  are  incul- 
cated, they  are  apt  to  enter,  in  an  exposition  of  this 
chapter,  upon  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the  nature 
of  the  new  book,  the  atonement,  future  punish- 
ment, &c. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


259 


Althous:h  it  would  ill  become  me  to  dictate  to 
the  minister  the  course  he  ought  to  pursue,  yet  I 
cannot  help  giving  a  brief  specimen  of  the  manner 
in  which  I  would  proceed,  were  I  to  attempt  such  an 
exposition.  It  will,  perhaps,  be  recollected,  that  the 
first  verse  of  the  chapter  in  question,  reads  as  fol- 
lows :  "  There  was  a  man  of  the  Pharisees,  named 
Nicodemus,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews." 

First,  I  would  explain  the  term  Pharisees. 
There  are  hundreds  of  adults — sometimes,  perhaps, 
hundreds  in  a  single  congregation — who  have  no 
clear  and  definite  ideas  of  the  meaning  of  the  terra 
Pharisee.  They  do  not  know  that  the  Jewish,  like 
the  Christian  church,  was  divided  into  sects ;  and  if 
they  know  even  this,  they  know  not  how  many  of 
these  sects  there  were,  or  which  were  considered  the 
most  respectable,  or  in  what,  in  fact,  their  peculiar- 
ities consisted.  All  this  I  would  endeavor  to  make 
plain — as  plain  as  the  English  language  could  make 
it — and  not  only  plain,  but  inviting. 

Next,  I  would  tell  them  something  about  a  rukr 
among  the  Jew^s— such  as  was  Nicodemus.  The 
word  ruler  occurs  so  many  times  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, that  it  seems  to  me  highly  desirable  for  every 
person  to  understand  its  meaning.  And  yet  how  few 
— how  very  few — can  tell  you  any  thing  more  about 
it  than  that  it  indicated  authority  or  rule  <>i  some 
sort.     A  full  explanation  of  this  single  term,  would 


260  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

take  up  four  minutes  or  more.  And  a  short  account 
of  Nicodemus  himself  nearly  as  long.  Here,  then, 
on  a  single  verse,  out  of  more  than  twenty,  and  that 
too  one  of  the  shortest  of  the  whole,  from  ten  to 
fifteen  minutes  might  be  profitably  spent ;  and  if 
rightly  managed,  I  have  no  doubt  agreeably  spent, 
as  well  as  profitably. 

I  would  not  say  so  much  of  this  method  of  in- 
struction, if  I  were  not  fully  satisfied  both  of  its  ne- 
cessity and  its  superiority, — if  I  were  not  satisfied, 
above  all,  of  the  aid  it  would  afford  teachers  and  pu- 
pils in  prosecuting  their  studies  during  the  week 
which  would  follow  the  exposition.  So  that  while 
effectually  accomphshing  other  objects,  the  minister 
is  doing  the  very  best  thing  in  his  power  for  the 
Sabbath  school. 

Still  I  speak  with  diffidence,  on  account  of  one 
difficulty — one,  in  fact,  which  seems  to  me  almost 
insurmountable.  For  I  might  almost  as  w^ell  expect 
a  man  to  carry  the  Andes  on  his  shoulders,  as  a  min- 
ister to  satisfy  a  certain  class  of  his  hearers  with 
this  form  of  instruction.  So  that  the  difficulty,  as 
will  be  seen — the  impossibility  rather — arises  from 
the  views  and  feelings  of  the  people,  and  not  from 
those  of  the  minister ;  and  it  is  this  blindness  of  the 
mass  of  the  community  to  their  own  real  wants,  that 
almost  palsies  one's  hand  while  he  attempts  to  write 
on  the  subject. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  261 

There  are  very  few  persons  among  us  who  would 
be  satisfied  for  any  considerable  time  with  any  thing 
short  of  the  very  form  of  pulpit  instruction,  which  is 
so  common  among  us  already.  It  has  sometimes 
appeared  to  me,  that  we  prefer  to  hear  what  we 
very  little  understand,  as  if  to  save  the  labor  of 
thinking.  Many  will  gladly  sit  the  year  round — 
that  is  every  Sabbath  of  the  year — to  hear  from  their 
minister  about  the  same  set  of  ideas  which  they  have 
always  heard,  only  that  they  are  turned  and  trans- 
posed in  such  a  way  as  to  assume  half  a  hundred 
or  a  hundred  different  aspects — just  as  we  may  trans- 
pose the  letters  of  the  alphabet  in  a  hundred  or  a 
thousand  different  ways.  Nor  will  they  be  satisfied 
with  any  other  sort  of  preaching.  There  must  be 
just  about  so  many  firsts  and  secondlies  and  thirdlies 
to  a  discourse,  or  it  will  not  answer  their  fastidious 
purposes ;  and  it  must  contain,  moreover,  the  very 
views  which  they  have  heard  and  believed  all  their 
lives  long ;  for  if  it  contain  more  or  less,  it  is  deemed 
heretical.  Let  it  but  be  what  they  have  heard,  or 
perhaps  slept  under,  half  a  century  or  more,  and 
they  are  greatly  delighted.  Never  before,  perhaps, 
was  there  a  more  excellent  preacher,  or  more  beau- 
tiful sermons.  While  he  who  has  dug  deep  into  the 
Divine  law,  and  brought  forth,  for  their  edification, 
out  of  the  Divine  treasury,  things  new  and  old,  will 
not  at  aU  please  them  or  satisfy  their  morbid  expect- 


262  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

ations,  in  comparison  with  the  man  who  preaches  in 
fine  style,  uses  fashionable  gestures,  dresses  fashion- 
ably, though  he  says  what  they  have  heard  a  hun- 
dred times  before. 

I  speak  here  with  some  confidence,  for  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  to  know  how  people  feel  in  re- 
gard to  this  subject.  Some  years  since  I  was  one  of 
a  number  of  petitioners  to  the  pastor  of  one  of  the 
more  respectable  churches  in  Boston,  requesting  him 
to  substitute,  for  his  elaborate  forenoon  sermon,  a 
sermon  of  the  kind  I  have  been  describina: — an  ex- 
position  of  a  chapter,  or  part  of  a  chapter,  either  in 
the  Old  or  New  Testament.  The  reply  to  the  peti- 
tion was,  that  for  himself  he  should  like  the  plan 
proposed,  but  that  it  would  never  be  satisfactory  to 
the  majority  of  his  hearers ;  and  to  a  few  it  would 
be  offensive.  I  hardly  need  to  say  that  the  prayer 
of  the  petitioners  was  not  granted. 

Another  way  still  in  which  ministers  might  aid 
Sabbath  schools,  had  they  the  time  to  spare  for  it,  is 
by  meeting  with  the  superintendent  and  teachers  at 
their  weekly  meetings,  "  The  teachers,"  says  Mr. 
Todd,  "  would  gladly  hear  the  minister,  the  fountain 
whence  they  draw  their  knowledge,  and  by  him  they 
are  willing  to  have  their  opinions  shaped.  They 
feel  too  their  need  of  mental  discipline,  their  poverty 
of  thought  or  illustration,  and  especially  they  feel 
their  inability  to  obtain  and  grasp  those  great  prin- 


AS    IT    SHOULD    CE.  263 

clples  and  views  of  the  whole  plan  of  redemption 
which  are  so  desirable  ;  and  which  once  obtained, 
give  a  religious  teacher  such  power.  Ministers  do 
not  get  this  great  system  fully  before  the  mind  till 
after  years  of  study.  Is  it  any  wonder,  then,  that 
teachers  cannot  ?  The  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  the 
great  foundation  stones  of  the  moral  temple,  are 
what  they  want  to  measure  and  examine,  to  lay 
their  hands  upon,  to  rest  their  hopes  upon,  and  by 
which  they  wish  to  teach  better.  The  pastor  only 
can  thus  instruct  them. 

"  By  meeting  the  teachers  weekly,  too,  the  min- 
ister would  preach  better !  And  how  1  Because 
he  would  be  continually  studying  to  simplify  truth 
and  thought  and  language,  so  that  the  children  may 
understand  what  is  taught  them.  In  this  way  he 
will  preach  with  more  simplicity,  more  nature,  more 
ease,  more  directness  and  more  illustration.  So 
great  a  part  of  his  instructions  will  not  go  over  the 
heads  of  his  hearers." 

From  the  statement  by  Mr.  Todd,  that  Sabbath 
school  teachers  would  gladly  have  their  opinions 
shaped  by  that  of  the  minister,  however  well  intend- 
ed, I  venture  to  dissent.  It  appears  to  me  that 
teachers  should  not  be  encouraged  in  the  habit  of 
suffering  others,  even  well  informed  ministers,  to 
shape  their  opinions.  Our  opinions  on  all  subjects, 
especially  on  religious  subjects,  should   be  formed 


264  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

according  to  truth,  and  not  according  to  any  human 
standard.  I  am  frequently  almost  impatient  when  I 
find  teachers  forming  their  opinions  almost  wholly 
from  Scott's  or  Clarke's  or  Henry's  Commentary, 
and  not  from  the  Bible  itself.  I  wish  Sabbath 
school  teachers  and  everybody  else,  to  read  the  Bi- 
ble for  themselves  and  form  their  opinions  according 
to  their  own  good  sense.  With  the  determination 
to  do  so,  however,  great  aid  may  be  derived  from  a 
minister  ;  and  I  fully  accord  with  the  excellent  writer 
from  whom  I  have  just  quoted,  in  most  of  his  views 
on  this  impoitant  subject. 

One  or  two  things  more  can  be  done  by  the 
minister,  for  the  Sabbath  school.  He  can  superin- 
tend it.  Ministers  have  done  this  service  and  done 
it  well.  I  repeat  it,  I  do  not  undertake  to  say  how 
many  can  find  time  for  it ;  but  any  who  have  the 
time,  may  thus  render  an  essential  service  to  the 
community. 

But  what  is  more  common,  they  can  teach  Bible 
classes.  Usually  the  minister,  if  he  can  attend  to 
it,  is  the  best  man  to  manage  and  instruct  the  more 
advanced  pupils  of  a  Sabbath  school.  A  great 
many  ministers  do  this  work  ;  and  some  of  them  do 
it  well,  exceedingly  well.  Others,  however,  do  not 
succeed  so  well.  As  I  have  said  elsewhere,  it  is  far 
from  being  every  good  man  who  can  teach  good 
things.     There  is  a  tact  of  communicating  what  we 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  265 

know,  without  which  our  efforts  are  but  haU^  suc- 
cessful. 

A  writer  who  insists  on  a  connection  of  some 
sort  between  the  minister  and  the  Sabbath  school — 
and  were  ministers  not  overburdened  with  labor 
already,  I  would  insist  upon  it  as  strongly  as  he — 
thus  expresses  himself  on  the  subject  : 

"  I  plead  for  the  close  connection  between  pas- 
tor and  school,  once  more,  because  it  will  create  a 
strong,  a  sweet  and  a  delightful  tie  between  the 
pastor  and  his  flock.  The  children  will  feel  that 
their  privileges  are  great,  because  the  minister  of 
God  is  so  frequently  present,  and  takes  so  deep  an 
interest  in  the  school.  The  teachers  feel  that  they 
labor  not  in  vain  5  and  that,  however  discouraging 
their  prospects  may  be,  there  is  one  heart  that  will 
never  grow  cold  — never  lose  its  sympathy  for  them. 
The  parents  will  feel  that  the  piety  and  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  church  are  enlisted  in  behalf  of  their 
children,  and  will  be  encouraged  to  co-operate.  The 
church  will  feel  that  she  must  go  with  her  leader, 
and  will  gather  her  sympathies  around  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord  ;  and  the  minister  himself  will  feel  that 
when  no  success  attends  his  labors  he  has  a  cohort 
in  the  church,  who  by  experience  have  learned 
what  it  is  to  labor  in  vain,  and  who  M'ill  not  be 
backward  to  sympathize  with  him.     And  when  the 

23 


266  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

holy  man  of  God  dies  there  will  be  tears  from  the 
eyes  of  those  in  the  Sabbath  school  room  who  have 
looked  upon  him  as  their  best  friend." 

There  is  at  least  one  thing  which  a  minister  can 
do,  to  which  no  writer,  so  far  as  I  know,  has  ad- 
verted. He  can  treat  the  Sabbath  school  teacher 
as  an  equal — a  fellow  laborer — a  coadjutor — and 
not,  as  has  sometimes  happened,  as  an  inferior. 
There  is  no  benefit  to  be  derived  from  keeping  the 
Sabbath  school  teacher,  the  common  school  teacher, 
or  any  other  teacher  at  a  distance,  as  if  his  employ- 
ment were  less  sacred,  or  as  if  the  minister  were  of 
better  materials  than  he.  Let  us  be  grateful  that 
the  number  of  ministers  of  this  sort  is  far  less  nu- 
merous than  it  once  was,  and  that  the  proportion  is 
still  diminishing.  So  long,  however,  as  there  are 
any  of  this  stamp  among  us,  there  is  occasion  for 
adverting  briefly  to  the  subject. 

But  the  minister  may  do  more  than  simply  to 
acknowledge  the  equality  of  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher  with  himself,  in  so  many  words ;  he  may 
and  should  manifest  his  republican  feeling  not  only 
with  his  lips,  but  with  his  life.  He  should  labor  to 
break  down  the  reserve  that  has  sometimes  existed, 
like  a  mountain  barrier,  between  even  the  good 
pastor  and  the  equally  good  though  perhaps  less 
learned   teacher.      I  do  not  say  that  the  teacher 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  267 

should  try  to  break  it  clown,  but  the  minister  him- 
self rather ;  for  I  have  greater  confidence  in  level- 
ling up  society  than  in  levelling  downward. 

If  there  is  any  thing  in  the  Christian  world  which 
should  form  the  basis  of  caste,  it  is  moral  excellence. 
And  yet  there  seems  to  be  a  contradiction  even  in  this. 
Who  can  think  of  the  Savior,  as  assuming  a  higher 
rank  than  the  meanest  of  his  brethren  ?  Where 
was  it  that  he  made  the  assumption — at  Nazareth  ? 
at  Capernaum  ?  on  the  sea  of  Galilee  1  at  Bethany  1 
at  Jerusalem  ?  at  the  cross  ?  Never,  no,  never. 
We  instinctively  revolt  at  the  idea  of  the  Savior  as 
setting  himself  above  his  brethren  of  the  human  race, 
on  account  of  his  excellence.  The  more  superla- 
tively excellent  or  holy  a  person  is,  the  more,  in 
fact,  he  resembles  the  Savior,  the  more  remarkable 
will  be  his  freedom-  from  every  thing  which  would 
seem  to  imply  an  assumption  of  superiority. 

Now  ministers  should  be,  above  all  other  men,  if 
possible,  close  imitators  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  in  this  particular  among  the  rest.  If  we  cannot 
conceive  of  the  Savior  as  setting  himself  above  those 
who  were  around  him,  then  we  ought  not  to  find 
Christian  ministers  assuming  such  an  attitude.  And 
if,  on  the  contrary,  we  find  the  Savior  more  free 
from  every  thing  of  the  kind  to  which  I  refer  than 
any  other  individual  in  the  world,  then  in  proportion 
as  his  ministers  and  followers  are  like  him,  will 


268  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

they  put  themselves  upon  a  par  with  their  fellow 
men. 

One  object  of  the  Christian  church  and  its  ordi- 
nances was  to  favor  equality  in  society,  or  at  least 
to  break  down  caste — to  teach  the  followers  of 
Christ  to  be  servants  to  their  fellow  men  as  he  him- 
self was,  rather  than  to  take  the  attitude  of  supe- 
riors. And  every  thing  which  pertains  to  the  Sab- 
bath school  ought  to  be  so  managed  as  to  have  the 
same  tendency ;  and  the  faithful  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  if  he  can  do  no  more  in  relation  to  the  Sab- 
bath school,  can  at  least  do  all  in  his  power  to  give 
it  this  direction  and  tendency.  Indeed  this  is  what 
thousands  are  doing ;  and  though  I  insist  and  have 
all  along  insisted  that  the  Sabbath  school,  as  yet, 
accomplishes  less,  so  far  as  immediate  results  are 
concerned,  than  many  suppose,  still,  if  it  can  but  be 
instrumental  in  breaking  down  caste  among  us,  of 
w^hich  there  is  some  hope,  it  will  not  have  had  its 
day  wholly  in  vain. 

Lastly,  a  minister  may  learn,  by  stepping  into  a 
Sabbath  school  now  and  then,  the  art  of  making  his 
instructions  intelligible  in  the  great  congregation. 
I  say  he  7nay  do  so.  For  there  are  some  ministers 
who  very  much  need  to  acquire  this  sort  of  know- 
ledge, and,  if  they  cannot  obtain  it  elsewhere,  ought 
to  be  willing  and  glad  to  obtain  it  in  the  Sabbath 
school  room.     Thousands  of  the  youthful  part  of  a 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  269 

congregation  may  yet  rise  up  and  call  their  minister 
blessed,  on  account  of  the  tact  he  acquire  d  in  his 
profession,  by  an  occasional  connection  with  the  Sab- 
bath school. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SABBATH  SCHOOL  LIBRARIES. 

§  I.    UTILITY    OF    SABBATH  SCHOOL    LIBRARIES. 

Rewards  in  Sabbath  schools  objected  to. — Books  in  a  library 
not  to  be  used  as  a  reward. — Sabbaih  school  libraries  de- 
fended— as  on  the  whole  desirable. 

There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  our  Sabbath 
schools  when  the  spirit  of  emulation  was  appealed 
to  by  the  distribution  of  various  forms  of  rewards, 
usually  of  little  value.  But  the  use  of  Sabbath 
school  rewards,  tokens  of  merit,  &c.  has  I  hope 
ne&rly  gone  into  disuse.  What  little  remains  of 
the  system  of  bestowing  rewards  is  now  connected 
with  the  Sabbath  school  library. 

But  even  here  I  would  take  great  pains  to 
avoid  the  appearance  of  reward.  Indeed  I  would 
make  such  rules  and  regulations  in  regard  to  all 
Sabbath  school  libraries  as  should  entirely  preclude 
every  such  idea.  I  would  have  every  thing  general. 
The  scholar  who  made  the  least  progress  and  who 
23* 


270  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

behaved  the  worst  should  share  equally  with  those 
who  made  the  most  progress  and  behaved  the  most 
correctly.  All  I  would  have  on  equality ;  but  I 
mean  as  to  rights.  If  any  one  injured  a  book  or 
manifested  an  entire  want  of  interest  in  regard  to  it, 
I  would  at  once  deprive  him  of  its  privileges. 

Some  are  averse  to  Sabbath  school  libraries ; 
supposing  them,  on  the  whole,  productive  of  more 
evil  than  good.  Children,  they  tell  us,  need  to 
think  more  and  read  less.  They  have  more  books 
already  than  they  can  use  to  advantage.  Besides, 
the  character  of  not  a  few  of  our  Sabbath  school 
books  is  very  doubtful. 

Now  all  this  reasoning  against  Sabbath  school 
books  is  very  plausible,  nor  is  it  wholly  without 
truth.  Children  certainly  read  too  much,  and  think 
too  little  ;  as  well  as  read,  indiscriminately,  all  sorts 
of  books.  For  various  reasons  it  comes  to  pass, 
that  without  some  general  direction  on  this  subject 
constituting  a  Board  of  Supervisors,  much  of  the 
reading  in  our  families — often  in  our  good  families — 
is  any  thing  but  what  it  ought  to  be.  But  this,  in- 
stead of  being  a  reason  for  opposing  the  introduc- 
tion of  Sabbath  school  libraries,  is  in  my  view  one 
of  the  strongest  arguments  in  their  favor.  In  the  use 
our  modern  Sabbath  school  books,  parents  are  aided 
by  a  Board  of  Education  as  it  were,  that  is,  by  the 
Committee  of  Publication  of  the  society ;  and  may 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  271 

be  tolerably  sure  that  at  least  no  foolish  or  obscene 
book  will  find  its  way  through  their  hands  into  the 
hands  of  their  children.  That  any  such  board  should 
have  or  exercise  infinite  wisdom  in  their  selection, 
is  not  to  be  expected,  and  accordingly  we  some- 
times seem  to  see  the  word  Jinite  instamped  on  their 
doings.  Nevertheless  the  selection  they  make  is 
probably  a  better  selection,  in  every  respect,  than 
would  be  made  by  nine  in  ten,  if  not  ninety-nine  in 
a  hundred,  of  the  generality  of  parents  themselves ; 
first  because  too  many  of  them  know  not  how  to 
select,  and  secondly  because  they  are  too  busy  to  do 
it,  had  they  the  necessary  knowledge. 

So  that  on  the  whole  I  am  in  favor  of  Sabbath 
school  libraries  of  some  sort.  But  if  such  libraries 
must  be  had,  there  must  be  certain  regulations  re- 
specting them.  It  is  in  vain  and  worse  than  in  vain 
to  have  a  library,  and  yet  have  no  rules  respecting 
it.     Let  us  consider  the  subject  however  separately. 

§  II.    LIBRARIES   FOR    TEACHERS. 

Necessity  of  such  libraries. — What  ihey  should  include. — 
Church  libraries. — Who  should  select  the  books  for  a 
teachers'  library. 

In  the  first  place,  however,  let  me  say  that  I 
should  greatly  desire  two  libraries  to  every  Sabbath 
school — one  for  the  teachers  and  one  for  the  pupils. 
The  besi  Sabbath  schools  I  have  ever  known  were 


272  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

thus  furnished.  Few  teachers  are  able  both  to  work 
for  nothing  and  find  themselves  with  all  the  imple- 
ments of  their  profession.  The  fact  is,  that  if  the 
church  leaves  her  Sabbath  school  teachers  to  labor 
gratuitously  and  will  not  come  to  their  aid  in  any 
other  way,  she  ought  at  least  to  furnish  them  with  a 
library.  By  the  aid  of  this,  each  teacher  might  get 
along  with  a  very  few  books  of  his  own,  except  per- 
haps Calmet's  Dictionary,  a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels 
and  a  few  maps. 

A  library  for  the  teachers  of  a  Sabbath  school 
should  include  all  our  best  commentaries  on  the 
Bible,  from  the  Comprehensive  Commentary  to 
Barnes'  Notes  and  Newcomb's  Harmony.  Scott 
and  Clarke  at  least,  besides  those  I  have  named 
above,  should  be  found  in  it. 

Another  class  of  books  suitable  for  this  library, 
are  those  which  treat  of  antiquities,  as  Jahn's  Arch- 
aeology, Bible  Manners  and  Customs,  &c.  The 
Natural  History  of  the  Bible  by  Harris,  Abbott,  or 
others  should  be  another  item.  The  best  travels  in 
the  East,  as  those  of  Niebuhr,  Burckhardt,  Carne, 
Maundrell,  Clarke,  Smith  and  Dwight,  Stevens, 
Jones,  Robinson,  and  Buckingham  should  also  if 
possible  be  procured.  Along  with  these  should  be 
Bible  Dictionaries,  and  Gazetteers  of  various  kinds, 
and  a  supply  of  geographies  and  maps.  Every 
thing,  in  fact,  which  will  fit  the  teacher  for  the 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  273 

special  discharge  of  his  duties  should  be  included. 
I  would  even  include  all  the  back  volumes  of  the 
Missionary  Herald,  or  at  least  all  the  current  num- 
bers ;  for  besides  its  other  merits,  this  excellent 
periodica]  is  one  of  the  best  works  on  geof^raphy — 
sacred  geography  among  the  rest — to  which  the 
inquiring  mind  could  possibly  be  directed. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  that  when  we  consider 
how  soulless  our  common  town  libraries  are,  espec- 
ially where  in  view  of  sectarian  jealousies  likely  to 
arise  all  religious  books  are  excluded,  it  becomes  a 
serious  question  whether  our  public  libraries  should 
not  be  formed  church-wise,  as  I  should  call  it ;  each 
denomination  having  its  own  library.  It  is  true  I 
deprecate  as  much  as  any  man,  the  idea  of  widen- 
ing the  gap  between  our  various  religious  sects — 
already  too  wide ;  but  yet  I  dread,  much  more,  this 
stripping  a  library  of  almost  every  thing  which,  to 
one  numerous  class  of  readers,  gives  life  or  interest 
to  it. 

If  this  arrangement  were  entered  into — if  every 
church  and  congregation  had  its  own  library ;  if  the 
church  held  the  Sabbath  school,  its  formation  and 
its  destinies  in  its  own  hands,  and  furnished  it  with 
teachers  from  its  own  numbers  ;  then  I  see  not  why 
the  teachers'  library  might  not  be  part  and  parcel  of 
the  general  church  or  parish  library.  Future  expe- 
rience miy  perhaps  decide  that  this  is  the  best  thing 


274  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

which  can  be  clone.  As  things  are  now,  however, 
I  regard  the  teacheis'  hbrary  as  far  more  necessary 
than  that  for  the  pupils  ;  although  I  should  be  un- 
willing to  dispense  with  either. 

Who  should  select  the  books  for  the  teachers' 
library,  is  wuth  me  a  matter  of  considerable  doubt. 
It  is  a  matter  to  which  they  are  hardly  competent 
who  have  never  known  the  privileges  of  one.  A 
committee  from  the  church  ought  probably  to  have 
a  voice  in  the  matter,  at  any  rate.  Let  the  selection 
be  made,  moreover,  as  much  as  any  other  act  is 
performed  which  concerns  the  chm'ch  arrangements, 
organization  or  discipline,  in  the  fear  of  God ;  for 
no  Sabbath  school  library,  for  teachers  or  others,  can 
be  expected  to  perform  its  appropriate  work  with- 
out the  Divine  blessing. 

§  nr.    LIBRARIES  FOR   THE  PUPILS  OF  SABBATH  SCHOOLS. 

A  selection  for  them  is  already  made. — This,  however,  is  to 
be  selected  from. — On  what  principles  — Not  on  the  ground 
of  cheapness,  solely. — Great  influence  of  Sabbath  school 
books. — Biographies. — Memoir.s. — Happy  living  raiher 
than  happy  dying. — Modes  of  distributing  books. — Why 
parents  are  the  best  persons  to  draw  books  for  children. — 
Parents  and  children  should  read  the  books  together. — Too 
much  reading. 

If  the  formation  of  a  library  for  the  pupils  of  the 
Sabbath  school  is  a  little  more  simple  than  the  for- 
mation of  that  for  teachers,  it  is  nevertheless,  a  work 
on  which  we  should  bestow  care.     For  though  we 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  275 

have  a  selection,  as  it  were,  of  books  for  them  al- 
ready made — which  is  not  the  case  in  relation  to 
teachers — still  even  this  selection  is  to  be  selected 
from.  No  one  Sabbath  school  presumes  to  take 
every  thing  which  may  be  had  at  Sabbath  school 
depositories,  even  were  their  means  ample  and  the 
books  all  equally  excellent.  A  choice  is  to  be  ex- 
ercised. By  what  principles,  then,  in  making  this 
choice,  shall  the  committee  of  selection  be  governed  ? 

To  me  it  seems  obvious  that  there  can  be  but 
one  leading  principle  to  which  they  should  be  di- 
rected, worthy  of  the  naine  of  principle.  To  select 
books  on  the  princi])le  of  mere  cheapness,  would 
certainly  be  unwise.  To  select  those  which  had  the 
most  or  the  prettiest  pictures  would  be  little  better. 
Not  that  cheapness  or  prettiness  forms  a  positive 
objection  to  a  book  of  any  sort ;  on  the  contrary 
both  seem  to  me  recommendations,  in  themselves 
considered.  All  I  mean  to  say,  is,  that  it  would  be 
worse  than  weakness  to  make  either  of  these  the 
grounds  of  selection.  The  great  principle  by  which 
we  should  be  governed  should  be  a  regard  to  in- 
trinsic excellence  and  a  reference  to  moral  tendency, 
religious  improvement,  or  growth  in  grace.  The 
best  books — those  best  calculated  to  make  us  at  the 
same  time  wiser  and  better — and  only  such  should, 
in  my  view,  be  selected. 

One    recommendation    in   books    for   children^ 


276  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

though  it  may  not  belong  in  strictness  of  language 
to  moral  excellence,  I  would  certainly  seek,  1  mean 
intelligibility.  There  are  some  books  which  find 
their  way  into  our  Sabbath  school  depositories,  which 
are  by  no  means  very  intelligible  to  children  ; — 
hardly  to  adults  themselves.  Not  that  such  books 
pass  the  ordeal — come  under  the  supervision  of  which 
I  have  spoken — for  they  do  not,  at  least  not  always. 
There  are  few  depositories  in  our  country,  perhaps 
there  are  none,  where  books  are  not  kept  which  have 
been  subjected  to  no  eye  of  scrutiny ;  and  though 
catalogues  of  those  which  have  been  published  by 
our  various  societies,  unions,  &c.  &c.,  are  usually 
kept  at  depositories,  many  a  committee  of  selection 
neglect  the  use  of  their  senses,  and  purchase  the 
class  of  books  which  I  have  just  named,  with  a  con- 
fused idea  that  they  come  to  them  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  same  board  as  the  others  do ;  and  it 
sometimes  happens  that  the  clerks  or  keepers  of  de- 
positories, either  through  negligence  or  design,  do 
not  undeceive  them.  Acting  on  the  principles  of  the 
world,  I  well  know  that  they  are  under  no  sort  of  obli- 
gation to  give  such  information ;  but  acting  on  the 
principles  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  they  are  so. 

Then,  again,  there  is  a  choice  to  be  exercised  in 
regard  to  books  which  have  been  examined  and 
approved  by  the  revising  or  publishing  committees. 
They  indeed  select  the  best  which  are  offered  them. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  277 

but  it  cannot  of  course  be  expected  that  among  a 
hundred  books  approved  by  a  revising  or  publishing 
committee,  all  should  be  of  equal  excellence.  Why 
then  should  we  not  avail  ourselves  of  the  privilege 
of  choice  among  them  1  Is  it  not  our  duty  to  do  so? 
Are  not  our  responsibilities  to  God  for  the  manner 
in  which  we  educate  our  children  such,  that  we 
expose  ourselves  to  his  disapprobation  if  we  do  it 
not? 

For  these  Sabbath  school  books  coming  into  our 
families  from  week  to  week,  have  no  little  influence  in 
these  families.  Is  it  not  a  common  maxim — at  least 
in  books — that  no  friend  visits  our  families  without 
leaving  an  impression,  even  though  he  stay  but  half 
an  hour  ?  But  if  a  friendly  visit  of  half  an  hour  af- 
fects the  character  of  our  children,  for  good  or  for 
evil,  how  much  more  the  friendly  visit  of  a  book, 
protracted  as  it  is  to  a  week  or  two  ?  How  much 
more  still,  when  we  have  during  the  whole  week 
some  three,  four  or  six  of  these  quiet,  modest,  but  at 
the  same  time  speaking  monitors!  How  exceed- 
ingly careful  ought  we  then  to  be  about  the  charac- 
ter of  these  visiters  !     Can  we  be  too  much  so  ? 

For  reasons  which  have  already  appeared  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  I  should  be  anxious  to  select, 
as  one  class  of  suitable  books  for  a  Sabbath  school 
library,  the  biographies  of  eminent  men  and  women 
mentioned  in  the  Bible — as  Noah,  Moses,  Joseph, 

24 


278  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

Samuel,  David,  Saul,  Timothy,  &c. — provided,  how- 
ever, they  were  properly  written.  For  it  is  not  every 
one  who  can  write  these  books  as  they  should  be 
written,  and  has  been  done  by  a  few,  such  as  Gal- 
laudet  and  Mrs.  Hooker.  Some  put  their  own  con- 
struction upon  motives  and  conduct  so  much,  that  a 
child  cannot  separate,  easily,  the  inspired  from  the 
uninspired,  or  the  true  from  the  false.  Now  I  should 
exceedingly  dislike  to  have  a  child  of  mine  read  one 
of  these  books,  in  which  the  writer's  own  imagina- 
tions or  conjectures  were  so  mixed  up  with  plain 
Bible  truth  that  he  would  be  liable  to  be  perplexed. 
How  many  a  child  has  been  led  into  wrong  notions, 
by  the  motto  which  has  often  been  appended  to 
pictures  of  our  Savior  representing  him  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years,  as  disputing  with  the  Jewish 
doctors  and  lawyers  ;  when  not  a  word  is  said  in  the 
Bible  which  would  justify  such  an  inference  ?  And 
yet  not  a  few  of  our  very  good  Sabbath  school 
books  contain  more  or  less  of  the  writers'  own  con- 
structions of  things  and  events,  and  have  the  same 
tendency  to  mislead  the  reader. 

I  say  therefore  that  in  selecting  for  the  Sabbath 
school,  I  should  be  anxious  to  avoid  all  books  of  this 
sort  if  possible,  even  if  by  their  exclusion  I  should 
very  much  diminish  my  range  of  selection.  Better 
have  but  few  books  at  a  time,  if  they  are  well  chosen, 
than  a  larger  number  if  it  must  include  those  which 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  279 

are  improper.  We  need  not,  however,  be  limited 
to  a  very  small  number  of  books.  By  going  to  the 
various  depositories,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union,  we  may  be  able  to  collect  quite  a  large 
number  which  may  be  regarded  as  unexceptionable. 

Every  thing  in  the  Sabbath  school  depository 
which  is  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  young  with 
the  love  of  sacred  geography,  history,  manners  and 
customs,  I  would  by  all  means  seize  upon,  provided 
however,  as  before,  the  writer  has  not  interwoven 
too  many  of  his  own  constructions  into  it.  Such 
are  accounts  of  travels,  as  those  of  our  Savior, 
Luke  and  others ;  of  particular  places,  as  Jerusalem, 
Jericho,  Mt.  Carmel,  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  ;  and 
of  particular  things,  as  the  palm  tree,  the  cedar,  the 
cross,  &c. 

There  is  one  class  of  Sabbath  school  books,  from 
which  I  should  be  apt  to  select  a  very  small  num- 
ber of  volumes.  I  allude  to  the  memoirs  of  deceased 
good  children  of  our  own  day  and  generation.  I 
have  various  objections  to  this  class  of  books,  among 
which  are  the  following. 

First,  I  doubt  very  much  whether  that  piety  can 
be  healthy  piety  which  is  so  often  in  these  cases — 
faithfully  narrated  no  doubt — grafted  upon  a  preco- 
cious or  sickly  constitution.  Now  the  piety  of  the 
New  Testament — the  piety  of  John  and  James  and 
Luke  end  Paul,  and  above  all  of  our  Savior  him- 


280  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

self — was  a  healthy  piety.  So  was  that,  as  I  have 
no  doubt,  of  young  Timothy.  We  have  no  evidence 
that  one  of  these  individuals  was  while  young  a 
prodigy  for  learning,  like  Pascal,  John  Mooney 
Mead,  and  Nathan  W.  Dickerman.  I  am  therefore 
sorry  to  see  such  precocity  held  forth  as  a  suitable 
object  of  imitation.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  child 
whose  intellect  has  been  cultivated  as  early  as 
was  that  of  John  Mooney  Mead,  who  was  taught 
hymns  before  he  could  speak  plainly,  can  be  a 
healthy  child ;  and  though  his  biography  may  be 
exceedingly  valuable  to  a  medical  man,  I  do  not 
wish  to  see  it  in  the  Sabbath  school. 

But  secondly,  I  dislike  one  of  the  features  in 
which  this  premature  piety — were  it  indeed  piety — 
is  presented.  In  saying  this  I  know  very  well  that 
I  utter  no  new^  truth.  It  is  only  what  has  been  said, 
and  well  said,  by  a  multitude  of  others.  Still  a  course 
of  remark  respecting  Sabbath  school  librai  ies,  would 
be  very  incomplete  without  adverting  to  the  subject ; 
and  besides  by  doing  so,  I  add  one  more  to  the 
numerous  testimonials  which  have  been  given  in 
concerning  it. 

I  say  therefore,  that  I  greatly  dislike  the  custom 
of  presenting  youthful  religion  to  the  youthful  mind 
in  such  a  dress  as  that  in  which  most  of  these  works 
present  it.  Religion,  would  she  allure  the  young 
into  her  paths,  must  be  presented  in  a  cheerfulj  not 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


281 


to  say  joyful  garb.  And  why  should  she  not  be 
thus  presented  1  Is  not  religion — I  speak  of  course 
of  the  Christian  religion — better  entittled  to  bask  in 
the  sunshine  and  wear  the  aspect  of  perpetual  smiles 
than  any  thing  else  below  the  sun  ?  Why  then,  I 
ask,  should  it  ever  appear  in  the  habiliments  of 
gloom  ?  Why  not  appear  as  its  Author  most  evi- 
dently intended  it  should  appear  ? 

And  yet  many  and  many  a  Sabbath  school  book 
is  httle  else  than  the  details  of  sayings  and  doings 
during  a  long  and  tedious  sickness,  with  a  full  ac- 
count of  all  the  dying  or  last  words  of  the  deceased. 
I  might  here  mention  a  great  number  of  our  Sabbath 
school  memoirs  in  addition  to  those  to  which  I  have 
already  alluded ;  but  I  know  of  none  more  unfortu- 
nate in  its  general  features  than  the  memoir  of  Ann 
Eliza  Starr,  more  than  half  of  which — I  believe  in 
point  of  fact,  about  two  thirds— is  fdled  with  details 
of  her  sickness,  last  sayings  and  doings,  and  early 
and  lamented  dissolution. 

W^hat  children  want,  in  order  to  render  religion 
attractive  to  them,  is  examples  of  happy  living, 
rather  than  happy  dying.  It  is  of  course  no  dis- 
paragement to  children  or  adults  to  give  pleasing 
testimony  even  in  sickness  and  death,  that  they  have 
loved  God  and  man,  and  w^ere  prepared  for  the  so- 
ciety of  man  justified  and  God  glorified,  at  the  hour 
of  their  departure ;— but  neither  is  it  highly  desira- 
24* 


282  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

ble,  unless  the  language  of  their  lives  has  been  ir? 
correspondence  with  that  of  their  deaths. 

It  seems  to  me  deeply  unfortunate  that  any  in- 
dividual young  or  old,  but  especially  the  young, 
should  get  his  head  filled  with  the  notion  of  being 
prepared  to  die.  The  Bible,  so  far  as  I  recollect, 
uses  no  such  language ;  neither  do  I  think  its  use 
ever  judicious.  We  should  be  prepared  to  live, 
rather  than  to  die — for  the  life  that  now  is,  and  for 
the  life  w^hich  is  to  come.  If  stronger  Bible  lan- 
guage than  this  is  to  be  sought,  or  is  desirable,  we 
have  it  from  the  prophet  Amos.  "  Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God,  0  Israel !"  The  suggestion  about  special 
preparation  for  death  always  conveys  to  my  mind 
skeptical  feelings.  "  Prepare  to  die,"  I  say  to  my- 
self. Man  does  not  die  !  His  countenance  is  indeed 
changed,  and  he  is  sent  away.  But  every  thing  es- 
sential to  the  man — everything  worthy  of  the  name 
— still  survives,  despite  appearances. 

Perhaps  something  is  owning  to  the  peculiar 
structure  of  an  individual's  mind,  and  yet  I  am  quite 
sure  that  the  notion  of  special  preparation  for  death, 
which  the  memoirs  of  pious  children  are  apt  to  in- 
culcate, is  as  unfortunate  for  the  cause  of  truth  and 
piety  as  any  thing  can  be ;  and  one  of  the  greatest 
of  the  smaller  mysteries  with  which  in  this  state  of 
existence  I  am  often  perplexed,  is,  how  great  and 
good  and  wise  men  can  sanction  the  use  of  the  class 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  283 

of  books  of  which  I  am  now  so  freely  speaking,  and 
vainly  think  they  thereby  aid  the  cause  of  virtue  and 
piety. 

For  to  be  a  little  more  particular  :  death-bed 
religion  and  death-bed  repentances  cannot  be  relied 
on  at  all  as  tests  of  piety.  This  is  so  common  an 
observation  that  I  need  but  to  repeat  it,  and  to  say 
that  in  the  whole  Bible,  so  far  as  I  can  now  recol- 
lect, we  meet  w'lih.  but  one  instance  of  genuine  re- 
pentance in  a  dying  hour,  while  the  Sacred  Record 
speaks,  in  a  thousand  instances,  of  those  who  lived 
holy  lives,  leaving  it  to  us  to  form  our  own  opinions 
about  the  manner  of  their  death.  From  all  which, 
1  think  we  may  make  one  inference,  that  genuine 
death-bed  repentance,  though  barely  possible,  is  not 
very  probable. 

2.  The  religion  of  the  sick  room  and  the  death- 
bed are,  and  ever  must  be,  repulsive  rather  than 
attractive  to  the  juvenile  mind.  Tell  me  not,  in  re- 
ply, that  this  comes  of  the  natural  heart — a  heart  at 
enmity  with  God — and  is  therefore  to  be  expected. 
I  know  it  is  to  be  expected,  and  this  is  the  very  rea- 
son why  I  would  point  out  a  more  excellent  way. 
I  would  not  brng  the  young  into  contact  with  the 
sick  room  and  the  death-bed,  except  in  the  course 
of  Providence  these  are  found  at  or  near  our  own 
homes ;  nor  would  I  bring  them  into  contact  with 
books  which  treat  much  of  the  sick  room  and  the 


284  THE    SABBATH  SCHOOL 

death-bed.  If  it  were  possible  to  give  them  the 
lives  of  good  children,  even  of  those  who  die  early ; 
if  we  could  have  a  particular  account  of  all  their 
sayings  and  doings  in  the  common  concerns  of  life, 
how  in  order  to  secure  the  approbation  of  their  con- 
sciences, and  above  all  of  God,  they  fought  against 
their  bad  habits,  evil  propensities,  stormy  passions, 
undue  appetites,  and  wrong  desires  and  feelings,  and 
how  they  denied  themselves  and  took  up  their  cross 
day  by  day,  as  well  as  how  they  loved  the  Sabbath, 
and  prayer  and  praise,  and  the  Bible,  and  the  Sav- 
ior ;  if  we  could  have  all  this,  I  say,  to  form  the  basis, 
and  indeed  the  principal  part  of  the  memoir,  with 
a  very  brief  account  only  of  the  last  sickness,  though 
it  were  a  long  sickness,  and  of  the  last  hours  and  last 
sayings,  I  should  not  feel  as  strong  an  objection  as 
I  now  do  to  books  of  this  description.  I  should  in- 
deed like,  still  better,  to  have  for  this  purpose  the 
lives  of  children  who,  instead  of  dying  early,  last  to 
old  age.  Nothing  can  be  more  unfortunate  for  the 
cause  of  good,  than  the  impression  which  is  some- 
times made  on  the  young  mind,  and  which  has  occa- 
sionally found  its  way  into  words,  that  all  the  good 
children  seem  to  die  early  !  How  ill  does  this  accord 
with  the  language  of  that  Bible  which  we  would 
fain  recommend  to  the  young,  when  it  tells  us,  that 
the  wicked  shall  not  live  out  half  his  days  ?  For 
here — in  the  matter  of  these  books — the  language 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  285 

of  fact  seems  to  be  that  it  is  the  righteous  that  does 
not  hve  out  half  his  days. 

3.  But  once  more  ;  the  religion  of  the  death- 
bed is  not  what  is  desirable.  If  it  were  to  become 
common  for  either  the  young  or  the  old  to  live  on 
as  they  list  while  they  are  in  health,  and  only  be- 
come religious  when  the  dark  days  of  adversity  and 
sickness  arrive,  T  would  no  longer  give  much  for 
religion  as  the  means  of  polishing  and  purifying  and 
rendering  happy  the  world  in  which  we  dwell. 
That,  however,  which  does  not  make  us  holy  and 
happy  in  this  world,  can  never  make  us  happy  in 
another  world,  and  it  were  well  if  it  were  so  under- 
stood, and  so  presented  to  the  minds  of  all,  espe- 
cially the  young. 

I  repeat  it,  therefore,  that  in  selecting  books  for 
a  Sabbath  school  library,  I  w^ould  studiously  avoid 
all  which  give  to  good  and  holy  things  a  dark  or 
sombre  shade — of  w'hich  there  are  certainly  a  very 
great  number  to  be  found  at  our  best  depositories. 
I  have  already  expressed  a  very  strong  partiality  to 
Bible  biography,  if  well  written ;  but  it  must  be 
prepared  exceedingly  ill,  that  is,  exceedingly  wide 
from  the  truth,  to  bring  it  into  the  shape  of  modern 
memoirs,  and  to  give  to  Joseph  or  Daniel  or  Paul 
a  long  and  tedious  season  of  sickness  prior  to  their 
dissolution,  or  any  last  dying  words.  Let  us  labor 
to  remove,  if  possible,  everything  that  stands  in  the 


286  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

way  of  representing  religion  as  it  truly  is, — that 
•which  makes  us  wiser  and  better  in  all  the  relations 
of  life,  and  which,  going  with  us  across  the  dark 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  makes  us  wiser,  bet- 
ter and  more  and  more  glorious  in  the  world  of 
spirits.  Let  us  do  nothing  at  all  to  favor  the  idea 
that  piety  is  a  something  which  is  valuable  to  die  by, 
but  which  is  rather  an  incumbrance  than  otherwise 
while  we  live,  as  is  the  expressed  belief  of  some 
pseudo-converts  to  Christianity,  and  the  practical 
view  of  thousands  who  would  hesitate  before  they 
would  be  quite  willing  to  put  such  a  sentiment  into 
words. 

But  suppose  a  library  to  be  well  selected  and 
ready  for  use.  What  shall  be  the  arrangements 
respecting  it  ?  Shall  children  be  allowed  to  take 
such  books  as  their  inclination  or  fancy  may  direct  ? 
Or  shall  there  be  some  oversight  of  the  matter  by 
parents  or  teachers  1  Shall  books  be  drawn  every 
Sabbath,  or  less  frequently  ?  Shall  there  be  laws 
to  enforce  their  regular  return,  and  penalties  to  pre- 
vent their  abuse  ?  And  shall  they  be  drawn  during 
the  Sabbath  school  exercises,  or  at  some  other 
season  1 

I  think  the  custom  of  carrying  round  the  books 
and  allowing  the  pupils  to  select  in  their  seats,  du- 
ring the  Sabbath  school  exercises,  is  objectionable, 
for  two  reasons,     1.  It  is  no  slight  interruption  to 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  287 

the  regular  exercises,  or  lessons.  2.  The  pupils  are 
not  allowed  time  to  select  to  any  purpose.  They 
might  almost  as  well  take  them  by  chance  as  in  the 
usual  hurried  manner  which  the  custom  to  which  I 
allude  involves — governed  often  as  they  are,  solely 
by  a  regard  to  the  appearance  of  the  cover,  the 
quaintness  of  the  title,  or  the  beauty  of  the  engrav- 
ings. 

As  to  the  policy  of  having  laws  to  secure  a  punc- 
tual return  of  the  books,  at  the  time  when  they 
ought  to  be  returned,  as  well  as  to  prevent  their 
abuse,  I  have  doubts.  If  the  method  of  selection 
and  general  management  which  I  am  about  to  pro- 
pose and  to  insist  on  could  be  adopted,  I  think  it 
better  that  law^s  and  penalties  should  not  exist ;  but 
as  things  now^  often  are,  not  to  have  laws  and  pen- 
alties is  equivalent  to  having  the  library  of  very 
little  service. 

My  proposal  is  that  the  parents  take  the  over- 
sisfht  of  this  matter,  and  select  the  books  for  their 
children.  It  is  possible,  indeed,  that  the  superin- 
tendent and  teachers  might  do  the  work  better,  had 
they  time  for  it ;  but  usually  they  have  not.  On 
the  w^hole,  I  prefer  that  it  should  be  left  to  parents, 
or  if,  as  must  sometimes  happen,  the  parents  them- 
selves cannot  attend,  let  them  send  or  depute  some 
person — a  neigbor  or  the  teacher  of  the  class. 

Let  parents  come  to  the  Sabbath  school  with 


288  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

their  children — I  here  go  upon  the  supposition  that 
the  school  is  held  at  9  o'clock  in  the  morning — and 
let  such  of  them  as  are  not  wanted  as  Sabbath  school 
teachers,  seize  the  opportunity  while  the  classes  are 
reciting,  &c.,  to  go  to  the  library  and  make  the  se- 
lection for  their  children.  Those  w-ho  are  person- 
ally employed  as  teachers  in  the  school,  may  per- 
haps engage  a  neighbor  or  friend,  who  is  not  thus 
employed,  to  draw  such  or  such  a  book  for  them ;  or, 
what  would  possibly  be  still  better,  they  might 
themselves  be  on  the  ground  fifteen  minutes  before 
the  school  is  opened,  and  make  the  selection  at  that 
time. 

Let  it  be  observed,  in  passing,  that  there  should 
be  printed  or  written  catalogues  of  the  books,  of 
which  every  parent  should  have  a  copy  ;  for  this 
would  save  a  great  deal  of  time  in  looking  over  the 
catalogue,  or  examining  the  books,  after  their  arri- 
val on  the  spot ;  and  besides  would  enable  the  pa- 
rent to  send  for  the  books  which  he  most  desired  for 
his  children.  There  would,  of  course,  be  some  little 
difficulty  about  sending,  because  the  book  wanted 
might  not  be  obtainable;  bnt  this  could  be  obviated 
by  giving  the  person  by  whom  we  send,  direction  to 
get  No.  6,  for  example,  if  he  cannot  find  No.  11; 
or  No.  8,  if  he  cannot  find  either  No.  6  or  11.  There 
must,  of  course,  be  some  system  in  regard  to  the  se- 
lection or  drawing  of  books ;    but   this   is   easily 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  289 

arranged.  Perhaps  the  simplest  and  best  arrange- 
ment is  to  have  the  names  of  the  parents  alphabet- 
ically arranged,  and  after  he  whose  name  stands  first 
on  the  catalogue  has  drawn  first,  he  shall  next  draw 
last ;  and  he  whose  name  is  second  shall  next  have 
the  opportunity  of  making  the  first  selection  ;  and 
so  on. 

There  are  numerous  reasons  why  I  prefer  to 
make  as  much  as  possible  of  the  parents  in  this  mat- 
ter and  in  every  matter,  and  as  little  as  possible  of 
the  children.  One  principal  reason  is  to  present 
a  check  to  that  growing  spirit  of  insubordination 
among  us,  already  the  source  of  much  trouble,  and 
which  promises  to  be  productive  of  trouble  still  more 
serious.  Time  was,  in  the  history  of  New  England 
— and  that  not  yet  quite  a  century  ago  either — when 
there  was  among  us  the  spirit  of  subordination. 
What  Mr.  Combe  calls  the  organ  of  veneration  was 
as  yet  active,  and  combativeness,  destructiveness, 
love  of  approbation,  &c.  &c.  had  not  swelled  to  a 
gigantic  size.  But  these  days  are  gone  by  now. 
Our  lads  of  twelve  to  twenty  are  now  young  men — 
we  must  not  call  them  boys.  They  must  think  for 
themselves  on  all  subjects — they  must  not  be  fettered 
by  doctrines  or  creeds,  imposed  by  their  parents  or 
their  masters.  Nay,  more,  they  must  have  their  own 
societies,  as  temperance  societies,  anti-slavery  soci- 
eties, Harrison  clubs,  and  for  aught  I  know,  Jackson 

25 


290  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

clubs.  In  short,  a  great  deal  is  said  of  and  to  our 
young  men,  and  they  are  urged  forward  when  they 
ought  to  be  held  back.  There  is  a  period  in  the 
lives  of  young  men, — as  every  young  man  finds  out 
has  been  the  case,  when  he  becomes  an  old  man, — 
when,  though  they  think  themselves  exceedingly 
wise  and  exceedingly  capable  of  self-direction,  they 
are  in  more  need  of  guidance  than  at  any  other  pe- 
riod of  life,  except  perhaps  its  veriest  infancy.  I 
allude,  of  course,  to  the  period  which  may  usually 
be  included  between  the  fourteenth  and  eighteenth 
year.  It  is  the  stormy  period  of  life ;  the  period 
when  the  passions,  just  rising,  are  headstrong  and 
unmanageable — like  the  sails  of  a  ship  just  set  by 
the  inexperienced  in  the  midst  of  a  gale.  Oh  how 
much  is  subordination — kind,  gentle,  but  firm  subor- 
dination— needed  at  every  step  of  this  part  of  the  voy- 
age of  human  life,  to  save  from  fatal  shipwreck.  And 
yet  here  it  is,  precisely  at  this  point,  that  the  genius, 
if  I  may  so  say,  of  many  of  our  customs — I  am  afraid 
too  the  genius  of  our  institutions  and  constitutions — 
would  encourage  insubordination.  Let  Christians 
then  do  all  they  can  to  counteract  this  growing  evil, 
not  so  much  by  violent  opposition,  as  by  prevention 
— by  keeping  the  power  in  their  own  hands  as  long 
as  they  can,  as  long,  at  least,  as  God  meant  they 
should  keep  it.  Let  this  principle,  moreover,  be 
kept  in  view,  in  the  organization  and  management 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  291 

of  the  Sabbath  school,  and  even  in  the  formation 
and  regulation  of  the  library.  Let  parents  at  least 
— if  the  superintendents  and  teachers  cannot — select 
the  books  which  are  to  be  the  companions  and  form 
the  character  of  their  children. 

So  far  as  I  am  acquainted,  it  is  customary  to 
draw  books  from  the  Sabbath  school  libraries  every 
Sabbath.  I  think  this  is  too  often,  altogether  too 
often.  Once  a  month — say  the  first  Sabbath  of 
every  month — is  often  enough  to  draw  a  new  book, 
as  it  seems  to  me.  Twelve  good  Sabbath  school 
books  in  a  year,  are  quite  enough  for  a  single  pupil 
to  draw  ;  especially  if  he  is  a  member  of  a  numer- 
ous family  who  also  attend  the  Sabbath  school  and 
draw  books  in  the  same  manner.  I  suppose  it  is 
usual  for  each  pupil  to  read  the  books  drawn  by  his 
brothers  and  sisters.  Suppose,  now,  there  are  five 
in  a  family  who  attend  the  Sabbath  school,  and  each 
draws  a  book  every  Sabbath,  and  each  of  the  family 
reads  all  the  books  drawn.  It  follows,  that  each  of 
these  children  reads  five  books  a  week.  Or  if  the 
family  should  chance  to  include  seven  Sabbath 
school  scholars,  each  reads  seven  a  week,  or  one  a 
day.  The  number  for  each  pupil  a  year  would  be 
365  volumes ;  that  is,  if  the  hbrary  should  contain 
so  many.  Now  I  care  not  how  small  the  books  are, 
there  is  not  a  child  in  the  world  who  ought  to  read 
365  Sabbath  school  books  a  year. 


292 


THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 


I  do  not  deny  that  I  have  put  here  an  extreme 
case,  for  there  are  few  such  large  families  as  I  have 
supposed.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  however,  as 
every  one  knows,  for  three  or  four  brothers  and 
sisters  to  attend  the  Sabbath  school.  Yet  even  in 
that  case,  on  the  old  plan,  the  number  of  new  books 
which  might  be  read  in  a  year,  by  a  pupil,  would 
be  enormous.     It  would  be  above  two  hundred. 

One  of  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  draw- 
ing only  once  a  month  is  that  a  collection  of  new 
books  would  last  longer  in  this  way.  Suppose  the 
church  contribute,  at  the  end  of  each  year,  and  pur- 
chase fifty  new  books.  Now  if  a  family  of  four 
children  is  to  be  permitted  to  draw  a  book  every 
Sabbath,  will  not  all  be  drawn  out  in  about  twelve 
Sabbaths'?  And  what  is  to  be  done  for  the  remain- 
ing forty  ?  But  let  them  draw  but  once  in  a  month, 
and  even  families  of  four  children  may  all  have, 
from  a  collection  of  only  fifty,  a  new  book  every 
month  throughout  the  year.* 

A  great  deal  is  said,  I  know,  about  their  read- 
ing the  old  books,  at  least  a  part  of  the  time.  But 
he  knows  little  of  human  nature  who  does  not  know 
that  few  children  will  do  this,  at  least  with  any 

*  Of  course,  I  am  here  speaking  of  a  X'ery  small  Sabbuh 
school.  As  many  books  are  necessary,  in  every  library,  as 
there  are  pupils  in  the  school.  Eighteen  dollars,  however, 
will  buy  more  than  fifty  books ;— say  about  seventy-five. 
And  thirty-six  dollars  will  buy  at  least  150  volumes  of  very 
good  books,  which  will  usually  be  equal  to  the  number  of 
pupils  in  our  largest  country  Sabbath  schools. 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE.  293 

relish.  It  ought  not  to  be  expected.  The  best  way- 
is  for  the  church  to  contribute  yearly  a  small  sum — 
say  enough  to  buy  fifty  volumes — and  make  the  best 
possible  use  of  them  for  that  year,  and  when  the 
year  is  at  an  end,  buy  more.  Fifty  small  volumes 
cost  but  little — perhaps  if  we  reckon  the  number  of 
individuals,  parents,  and  children,  connected  with  a 
Sabbath  school  at  three  hundred,  not  more  than  five 
or  six  cents  to  an  individual.  Will  any  grudge  this 
small  sum  ?  Will  the  father  and  mother  of  a  family 
of  two  children  grudge  the  payment  of  twenty-four 
cents  a  year,  for  the  perusal  of  twenty-four  new 
books  ?  Let  it  be  remembered,  moreover,  that  each  of 
the  family,  parents  and  children,  can  peruse  all  the 
twenty-four  books;  so  that  there  may  be  no  less 
than  ninety-six  perusals  in  all,  at  a  quarter  of  a  cent 
apiece.  That  church  must  have  strange  notions  of 
duty  which,  believing  in  the  usefulness  of  Sabbath 
school  libraries  at  all,  grudges  this  small — 1  had 
almost  said  trifling  expense — that  of  a  pound  of 
butter,  or  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  tea  to  a  family. 
Will  any  doubt  which  is  of  most  value  to  a  Chris- 
tian household,  four  ounces  of  tea  or  the  reading  of 
twenty-four  new  and  valuable  books  ? 

And  yet,  as  has  been  already  intimated,  more  than 
this  need  not  be  asked,  for  a  Sabbath  school  of  ordi- 
nary size.     True  the  books  selected  would  be  many 
of  them  small  books,  but  not  all.     Eighteen  dollars 
25* 


294 


THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 


■will  buy  a  very  good  assortment  of  our  best  books 
for  the  juvenile  mind  to  the  number  of  fifty  volumes. 
A  little  more  than  this  would  be  required  for  a  good 
teachers'  library,  such  as  I  have  elsewhere  referred 
to. 

I  have  insisted  that  the  books  ought  not  to  be 
drawn  oftener  than  once  a  month  ;  though  if  this 
were  thought  too  large  an  innovation  upon  present 
usages,  the  change  might  be  made,  at  first,  to  once 
a  fortnight.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  drawing  books 
only  once  a  month  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Every  parent — every  mother  at  least — ought 
to  read,  with  her  child,  every  book  which  is  drawn 
from  the  library.  Most  mothers  and  fathers  too 
would  delight  to  do  this ;  but  seem  to  think  they 
have  not  the  time.  I  hold  that  they  ought  to  find 
time,  or  else  not  select  or  draw  the  books.  I  do  not 
mean  that  the  child  ought  never  to  read  a  book 
which  is  drawn  for  him  except  when  he  reads  it  with 
the  parent ;  but  only  that  it  should  have  one  read- 
ing, which  should  be  a  joint  reading  — all  the  family 
being  present  if  possible ;  all  at  any  rate  but  the 
father.  And  not  only  should  the  book  be  read,  but 
it  should  be  made  the  subject  of  conversation.  When- 
ever either  child  manifests  a  wish,  by  raising  the 
hand  or  by  any  other  signal  agreed  upon  by  the 
family,  to  ask  a  question,  let  it  accordingly  be  ask- 
ed ;   and  whatever  digressions  it  might  involve,  if 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


295 


they  were  not  wholly  foreign  to  the  subject  or 
wholly  improper  for  the  child,  I  would  permit ;  that 
the  conversation  might  be  free  and  unembarrassed. 

But  the  book  should  not  only  be  read  together 
and  reviewed  when  read  ;  it  should  form  the  fre- 
quent topic  of  conversation  at  the  table  and  else- 
where. Besides  other  books  should,  in  many  in- 
stances, be  read  with  reference  to  it.  Thus  if  the 
book  before  the  family  were  the  life  of  Joseph,  I 
would  have  the  parent  often  refer  the  child  to  the 
part  of  the  Bible  whence  the  story  was  taken,  both 
that  he  might  be  led  to  inquire  whether  it  was  cor- 
rect, and  also  to  accustom  him  to  search,  for  himself, 
the  Holy  Scriptures  in  general.  So  if  it  were  the 
description  of  "  Jerusalem  as  it  was,  and  as  it  now 
is,"  I  would  accustom  him  to  read,  while  perusing 
it,  the  "  Modern  Traveller,"  and  other  authentic 
works ;  that  he  might  verify,  all  along,  the  state- 
ments of  his  author. 

Now  who  does  not  see  that  there  is  no  time,  in  a 
family  -  where  there  are  three  or  four  children  who 
draw  books — to  read  over,  in  this  way,  all  their 
books  in  the  compass  of  a  single  week.  Three  or 
four  books,  if  small,  might  possibly  be  thus  read  in 
a  month ;  but  if  one  or  two  of  them  were  larger,  a 
month  would  not  be  long  enough.  Besides,  it  is 
impossible  to  adopt  any  rule  which  will  meet  all 
cases,  and   the  extreme  which  I  have  mentioned 


296  THE    SABBATH    SCHOOL 

would  be  a  far  less  evil  than  the  extreme  of  being 
deluged  with  books  on  the  old  plan,  that  is  of  hav- 
ing, in  large  families,  some  twenty  or  thirty  books 
in  a  month  to  be  gossiped  over  merely,  for  they  can 
never  be  read  in  any  proper  or  useful  manner. 

2.  A  second  reason  for  having  but  few  books  in 
a  family  is  that  children  may  not  become  satiated — 
cloyed,  as  it  were — with  them.  Such  a  result, 
whenever  it  happens,  is  deeply  unfortunate.  So  is 
that  of  making  them  too  cheap.  Children  should 
set  a  high  estimate  upon  books,  and  learn  to  use 
them  with  great  care.  Any  thing  w^hich  tends  to 
make  them  too  cheap  in  their  estimation  is  to  be 
avoided  with  much  solicitude. 

The  evil  to  which  I  now  allude  is  found  most 
conspicuous  in  our  district  schools.  No  sooner  can 
the  child  "  say  A  B,  and  sit  on  a  bench,"  than  a 
book  is  put  in.his  hand,  and  he  is  compelled  to  hold 
and  study  it.  To  study  it,  did  I  say  1  I  recall  the 
expression.  It  is  mockery  to  call  it  studying.  He 
holds  it,  indeed,  and  looks  on  it — sometimes  he  even 
holds  it  with  care.  But  study  it  he  does  not,  at  least 
not  generally ;  nor  does  he  generally  hold  it  care- 
fully or  safely.  It  is  thumbed,  and  soiled  and  torn ; 
and  it  becomes  an  old  book  long  before  its  years 
should  indicate  age.  Hundreds  and  thousands  of 
books  are  thus  worn  out — I  might  say  wasted — to 
no  purpose ;  nay  even  to  a  purpose  much  worse  than 


AS    IT    SHOULD    BE. 


297 


none.  The  pupils  acquire  the  habit  of  using  books 
carelessly  in  school ;  and  it  is  ten  to  one  but  the 
habit  thus  acquired  is  extended  to  the  use  of  books 
everywhere,  as  well  as  carried  along  into  later  life. 
Nor  is  this  all.  In  acquiring  the  habit  of  being 
careless  in  the  use  of  books,  we  acquire  the  habit  of 
carelessness  in  other  matters.  It  w^ould  be  one  of 
the  strangest  things  in  the  world  to  find  a  boy  who 
neglected  to  preserve  his  books  with  proper  care,  who 
was  not  neglectful  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  about 
other  matters.  Besides,  the  habit  of  holding  books 
in  the  hand — having  eyes  and  yet  seeing  not — if  it 
does  not  tend  to  hypocrisy,  must  at  least  be  greatly 
injurious  in  other  respects. 

It  does  not  seem  to  me  desirable  that  children, 
in  the  district  school  or  in  the  family,  should  have 
much  to  do  with  books  in  very  early  life.  I  have  seen 
habits  formed  in  families,  by  an  early  and  free  in- 
dulgence in  the  use  of  books,  which  the  parents  a 
year  or  two  later  would  have  been  greatly  glad  to 
have  had  broken.  I  would  have  books  rare  and 
valuable  to  the  young,  that  they  may  be  prized  by 
them  when  they  are  old.  I  have  even  sometimes 
thouo-ht,  that  were  I  teacher,  I  would  not  let  my 
pupils  have  any  books  in  school,  especially  for  a  few 
of  their  first  years ;  that  I  would  teach  them  orally 
and  from  slates  till  they  could  read  well,  and  then 
gradually  let  them  have  books  as  a  favor.     If  this 


298  THE    SABBATH   SCHOOL 

custom  or  method  were  common,  I  doubt  whether 
■W'e  should  find  children  as  we  now  do,  here  and 
there,  who  hate  books.  I  believe  there  is  naturally 
no  such  thing  as  a  book-hater  in  the  w^orld ;  that  a 
hater  of  books  is  a  monster — the  result  of  misman- 
agement on  the  part  of  teachers  and  parents.  I  am 
afraid,  moreover,  that  the  cheapness,  as  I  have  called 
it,  of  Sabbath  school  books,  has  had  something  to 
do  in  the  case.  Let  us,  at  all  events,  take  great 
care  that  we  have  none  in  the  Sabbath  school  library 
but  good  books  ;  and  that  what  are  drawn  from  it, 
are  drawn  because  they  are  desired,  and  if  drawn 
are  read,  and  well  and  properly  used  and  taken  care 
of.  Let  us  at  least  do  no  harm  with  our  Sabbath 
school  books,  if  we  cannot  make  them  as  really  useful 
as  we  may  desire. 

3.  But  it  is  not  only  unfortunate  to  satiate  a 
child  with  books  ;  too  many  books  are  in  point  of 
fact  positively  injurious  to  the  mental  faculties.  Too 
much  mental  food  is  almost  as  bad  for  the  mental 
faculties,  as  too  much  bodily  food  for  the  functions 
of  the  body.  And  indeed  it  not  only  injures  the 
mind,  but  the  body  also.  Hardly  a  medical  man  has 
written  on  the  subject,  who  has  not  set  down  the 
habit  of  reading  a  great  deal,  or  at  least  a  great 
deal  of  intellectual  activity,  as  having  an  unfavora- 
ble influence  on  the  health. 

One  of  the  faults  of  the  age  is,  that  we  read  too 


AS    IT    SHOULD   BE.  299 

• 

much,  and  think  too  little ;  or  more  properly  per- 
haps, read  too  much  in  proportion  to  our  thinking. 
Adults  could  hardly  read  too  much,  if  the  reading 
were  of  the  right  character,  and  if  it  were  carefully 
read,  marked,  learnt  and  inwardly  digested.     Chil- 
dren, however,  up  to  seven  or  eight  years  of  age  at 
least,  and  in  fact  for  some  time  afterwards,  should 
read  but  very  little.     One  of  the  blessings  of  a  well 
selected  and  well  arranged  library — whether  Sab- 
bath school  library  or  any  other — is,  that  instead  of 
encouraging  endless  and  indiscriminate  reading,  its 
tendency,  rightly  conducted,  is  to  shut  us  up  to  fewer 
books  and  those  of  a  better  character.     Let  parents 
then,  together  with  the  teachers  of  Sabbath  schools, 
and  indeed  all  the  friends  of  the  young,  take  pains 
to  have  Sabbath  school  children  read  as  few  miscel- 
laneous books  as  possible,  and  to  have  what  they  do 
read,  be  read  and  understood  thoroughly.      Thus 
may  their  reading  contribute  to  their  happiness  of 
body  and  soul  j  and  thus  may  it  be  made  a  means 
of  inducing  them  to  glorify  Him  who  is  the  author 
of  body  and  spirit  both. 


THE    END. 


'^/ 


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